Control
by NikkiB1973
Summary: Prompt-change the pivotal moment in New Moon when Bella is about to leave with Alice for Italy. Charlie comes home earlier than expected throwing everything into chaos. Set in New Moon AU of course. Due to bad feed back now on hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-prompt-change the pivotal moment in New Moon when Bella is about to leave with Alice for Italy. Charlie comes home earlier than expected throwing everything into chaos. Set in New Moon AU of course. Thanks to kini113 for the prompt.  
**_

_"Dad,_

_I'm with Alice. Edward's in trouble. You can ground me when I get back. I know it's a bad time. So sorry. _

_Love you so much._

_Bella."_

"Get your wallet-you'll need ID. Please tell me you have a passport. I don't have time to forge one." Alice said desperately.

"Yes." Bella nodded and then raced up the stairs. She didn't realise Jacob was hot on her heels until she felt his incredible heat warming her back. He could move so silently that it still continually surprised her. "I haven't got time for a fight, Jake. Just let me go." She begged him.

"Don't go." Jacob whispered. HIs anger was all gone now that Alice was out of sight.

Bella didn't waste time arguing with him. "Please, take care of Charlie." She said as she stuffed her old wallet, a clean T-shirt and sweatpants into an old backpack. She threw a few other essentials on top before spinning on her heel and thundering down the stairs again.

Jacob was right behind her again. He overtook her on the last step and blocked her view of Alice. Bella tried to bypass him impatiently but he refused to give her room. She wanted to scream at him she was feeling so frustrated. "I can't believe you're even considering taking her with you. You claim to love her but you're willing to risk her life when it suits you." He snarled at Alice. "You may control yourself on occasion, but these leeches you're taking her to-"

"Yes. You're right, dog." Alice retorted bitterly. "The Volturi are the very essence of our kind-they're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I'm not unaware of that."

"And you take her to them like a bottle of wine for a party! You disgusting, filthy bloodsucker." Jacob shouted.

"You think she'd be better off if I left her alone, with Victoria stalking her?" Alice raged.

"You and your goddamn coven left her alone in the woods to die. You didn't care then." Jacob was losing control. His whole body was shaking. "I'm the one who's been here all these months keeping her safe. Not you. And not that damn asshole who ripped her heart out and left her to drown in her own tears."

"Jacob." Bella sobbed. "Please."

"It's the truth, Bells." Jacob turned and caught her arm with a shivering hand. His dark eyes glistened with tears. "Don't go. Stay."

A lump lodged in Bella's throat as she stared up at his beautiful face. "Jake, I have to-"

"You don't, though. You really don't. You could stay here with me. You could stay alive. For Charlie. For me."

The engine of Carlisle's Mercedes purred quietly. Bella hadn't even seen Alice leave to get into the car. She swallowed the lump in her throat and dropped her eyes from Jacob's stricken face. "Whatever Edward's done or however he feels about me. I have to save him. I have to." She cast one last desperate glance toward him. "If it was you I would do the same."

Then she ran outside, shaking her head, her tears spattering from her eyes. Despite everything she had just said Jacob was still following. "Don't die, Bella." He choked out. "Don't go. Don't."

Bella paused long enough to quickly throw her arms around Jacob's waist. She sobbed against his chest as she felt his big hand on the back of her hair, holding her in place. Then she pushed him away again. "Bye, Jake." She whispered painfully. "I'm sorry. Look after Charlie for me."

Alice was revving the engine impatiently. Bella climbed clumsily into the passenger side and shut the door. "Let's go." She muttered as she cast her eyes down to her shaking hands. She couldn't bear to look out of the window to see Jacob's tormented face.

The tires screeched as Alice stomped on the gas. The Mercedes shot forward but just as violently stopped as Alice braked hard. Bella was thrown forward in her seat, the belt cutting into her chest and leaving her winded. White faced, she turned to stare at Alice in alarm, confused as to why she had stopped. Alice was staring out of the windscreen at something. Bella turned to look too.

Charlie's cruiser was parked across the entrance to the drive, essentially blocking them in.

* * *

Bella had never seen her father so livid. He was supposed to be at Harry's funeral. What was he doing here? Surely it couldn't be over already. She glanced at Alice uneasily as she wondered what to do. Alice appeared shocked, clearly she had not foreseen this turn of events. It had to be Jacob. Alice had already confessed to Bella that she couldn't see past the wolves. Jacob's presence had blindsided them all.

"Get out." Charlie roared as he wrenched the passenger door open. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Dad." Bella looked at him despairingly. "It's not what you think."

"So, you're not running off then?" Charlie snapped as he grabbed her backpack from her shaking hands and ripped it open. He upended it and the contents fell at his feet-including her passport. "Unbelievable."

"Dad." Bella whispered again. "You don't understand."

"You are right I don't." Charlie scowled, his brown eyes stained with grief. He turned his attention to Alice and his expression darkened further. "I welcomed you into my home. I allowed you to stay because I thought it was a comfort to Bella. But all the time you were planning this behind my back." He yelled at her.

"Please, Charlie, we're not doing this lightly." Alice pleaded. Her fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Something has happened to my brother. He is not in a good place right now. He just needs to see Bella, that's all. That's all it is. We are just going to pay him a quick visit for a couple of days and then I'd bring Bella straight home."

"Don't try and fool me with your weasel words." Charlie said bitingly. He grabbed hold of Bella's arm and yanked her out of the car. "I don't give a shit about your brother or his problems. And don't you dare drag my daughter back into his mess, especially not after the way he treated her. Now get the fuck out of here."

Bella tried to shake Charlie off, but his hold was too tight. She looked at Alice desperately, mentally willing her to stage an intervention, but the little psychic remained rigid, seemingly too stunned to think of a way out of this. Charlie was hauling Bella up the driveway now, deliberately ignoring her protests. It was only then he noticed Jacob standing silently in front of the house.

"How long have you been there?" He demanded fiercely. "Did you know she was planning this?"

"I tried to stop her." Jacob said dully. "But she wouldn't listen."

"Dammit." Charlie fumbled for his keys.

"Let me go, Dad. I'm eighteen now. You can't legally stop me." Bella struggled in his tight grip but in vain.

"Don't you even go there, Bella." Charlie gave up on trying to open the door. He chucked the keys at Jacob and indicated with a sharp nod of his head for him to do it instead. Jacob complied quickly as he slipped the key in the lock and turned it. "I need you to move my car." He ordered sharply as he pushed Bella into the house in front of him. "Make sure that the little witch in the Mercedes is gone before you come back inside."

* * *

Alice was gone. She had sent a quick text message to Bella telling her she couldn't wait and would head to Italy alone to try and save Edward. Bella was curled up on the sofa, her eyes red raw from crying. She kept anxiously biting her nails; her face feverish as she contemplated the worst possible case scenarios for what would happen to Edward now that she had been forced to stay behind. It didn't bear thinking about. She felt the sofa cushions dip and turned to find Charlie next to her.

"Leave me alone." She said thickly. "I will never forgive you for this."

Charlie's jaw flexed and his soft expression turned hard. He withdrew from her slightly, his lips thinning into a hard line. "Sometimes I wonder where you get your selfish streak from. I buried my best friend today." He said severely. "I was hoping for some support so I came home early only to find you ready to run after that son of a bitch."

Bella recoiled at the harshness in his tone. "I'm sorry about Harry." She whispered hoarsely. "But Edward..."

"To hell with Edward. It's where he belongs anyway." Charlie's temper flared again. He stood up, giving up on trying to comfort her. He was too sad and weary to fight with her right now.

"How could you say that?" Bella accused through a veil of tears. "You have no idea about anything."

"Grow up, Bella." Charlie argued. "That boy hurt you in the worst possible way and left you to wallow in a deep depression for months without one single word. Do you really think I was going to be okay with you running off to wipe his sorry ass because he changed his mind?" He threw the short note she had written for him on the sofa next to her. "You may not see it now but you'll thank me one day. I should have been more proactive a long time ago. I knew he was a controlling little prick but I was so scared of losing you, that I kept quiet. Well, I won't be quiet anymore. Getting you to go after him is just another way for him to control you. Can't you see that? I'm your dad and I love you. It's my job to protect you. And that's what I'm doing now...even if you can't see it yet."

Charlie exhaled deeply as he swallowed down his anger and leaned forward to kiss Bella on the top of her head in a rare show of affection. Then he turned and walked away.

* * *

A warm hand cupped the back of Bella's head, startling her awake. "I'm sorry." Jacob apologised huskily. He was holding a mug of coffee in his hand. "I made you this. You've been asleep for hours."

Bella took it from his silently and curled her fingers around the warm mug. A headache was forming at her temples and she felt tired and listless. Jacob was watching her warily and she averted her gaze from him.

"Are you angry with me?" He asked eventually.

"I want to be." Bella whispered. "But I can't summon up the effort." She blew on the hot liquid to cool it down before taking a tentative sip. The coffee burnt the roof of her mouth proving that she could still feel after all. "Damn." She mumbled as the familiar tears pooled in her eyes.

"I didn't call him if that's what you're thinking." Jacob continued roughly. "But I'm glad Charlie came back early and stopped you. You're here and you're alive. Even if you hate me forever and never speak to me again I'll just be glad that you're safe."

"Jake, what am I going to do?" Bella raised her eyes to him, her heart and mind were clouded with pain. She had spent so long holding onto the memory of Edward and now that's what he could become if Alice didn't reach him in time. Jacob had been holding her together all these months; he numbed the pain, even if he couldn't rid it from her entirely. "Help me." She said in a small voice.

Jacob wished he could walk away from this broken girl in front of him. She was asking too much of him, wanting him to hold her together again because her world was falling apart. What about him? What about what he needed? She knew how he felt about her, but his feelings were secondary to her pain over the damn bloodsucker. But as always the pull to comfort her was stronger than his resentment. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm here, Bella. I'm always here." He said bleakly as he let her sob against his chest as if her heart would break.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the reviews! Thanks again to Kini113 for the prompt. Be warned this chapter bleeds angst. **_

**Part Two**

The morning dawned bright and clear. For once the sun had burned its way through the constant cloud cover to reveal itself in all its sparkling glory. But Bella didn't see it. She was still in bed, buried under her duvet, her eyes raw from crying so much. She had received one brief text message from Alice informing her that she was at the airport, but then nothing since.

"Bells." Charlie spoke to her through the bedroom door. "It's ten o'clock now. I've made you some breakfast."

As if she could eat anything? The thought of putting any kind of food in her mouth was unappealing. She felt drained and empty. Nothing mattered anymore other then whether Alice had reached Edward in time. She should have been with her. It was the man on the other side of the door who had stopped her. Angry tears welled in her already sore eyes. The emotion meant that she was feeling something again when she really didn't want to. It made her resent her father even more.

"Bella, answer me." Charlie was getting impatient now.

When she still refused to acknowledge him he thrust the door open and stepped into the darkened room. His expression turned grim when he noted that the drapes were shut tight, omitting all light, and that his daughter was tucked under the duvet, hiding from the world. This was the exact same scenario he had been faced with when Cullen had first left her. He had been forced to stand by and watch as she drifted through each day like an automaton-cutting herself off from the world and those who cared about her. Well he wasn't going to let her sink into depression again. Not over _him_. She had already wasted enough of her life on that asshole.

"Get up." Charlie ordered as he yanked the curtains back violently. Light spilled into the room, illuminating the body huddled under the duvet. Charlie didn't hesitate to pull the damn thing off his daughter. Bella rolled onto her back, and was left shocked by his sudden intrusion. "I'm not having you lying in bed all day wallowing. Get up and come downstairs. I've made breakfast."

* * *

Billy rolled his chair into his son's room and gently shook him awake. Jacob could sleep like the dead when he'd been patrolling all night. Billy knew that his son had pulled a double shift. He had refused to leave Bella's, wanting to stay close in case anything else happened when he was too far away to do anything about it. He was still fearful that Alice Cullen was going to reappear and kidnap Bella or something. Sam had been forced to issue an Alpha command on him to go home.

"I've made breakfast." Billy said gruffly.

It was the mention of food that finally pierced Jacob's exhaustion. He flopped onto his back and gazed blearily at his father. "What time is it?" He asked wearily.

Billy glanced at the mangled remains of Jacob's latest alarm clock. They never lasted long. One thump with his fist when it beeped was usually enough to wreck it. "It's ten thirty."

"What?" Jacob sat up abruptly, his eyes now wide awake. "I should have been out ages ago. Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"Because you needed the rest." Billy replied evenly.

"But Bella..."

"Is at home with Charlie. I knew you would be worried so I called him a few minutes ago to check that she was okay."

Jacob felt his cheeks grow warm. Billy knew him so well. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"Come on, get up now, those eggs and bacon won't eat themselves." Billy teased lightly.

Despite his anxiety over Bella, Jacob couldn't help salivating at the thought of food. He smiled gratefully at his father before bolting out of his bedroom and heading straight for the kitchen.

* * *

Round and round the spoon went in her bowl of cereal. Charlie gritted his teeth as he watched his daughter listlessly stir the cornflakes in her bowl. Beside it was the toast he had made for her, also left untouched. "Eat up, Bella." He said sharply.

"I'm not hungry." Bella muttered as she pushed the bowl away.

Charlie tried to keep his irritation in check. He leaned forward and pushed the bowl back in front of her. "Eat." He ordered. "You need to keep your strength up."

"I told you I'm not hungry." Bella exclaimed resentfully.

"Do you really want to engage in a battle of wills with me, Bells?" Charlie said in an authoritative tone. "Because I can assure you that you would lose. Now, stop acting like a five year old and eat your damn breakfast."

Easy tears welled in her brown eyes. She wasn't used to this more involved Charlie. He had never spoken to her like this before and she didn't much like it. Her stubbornness kicked in-and even though she felt the first stirrings of hunger pangs in her gut- her stupid pride wouldn't let her give in. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"So, we're back to this." Charlie retorted bitterly. "You are punishing me for stopping you from making a big mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake." Bella cried passionately as red flooded her pale skin. "Edward is in trouble."

"And his family can deal with it." Charlie interjected harshly. He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going to call the station to check in. I'll be working from home today so don't get any funny ideas about sneaking off when I'm not looking." He marched out of the kitchen toward the phone leaving Bella glaring resentfully after him.

* * *

Billy was worried about his son. Jacob ate his food quickly, seeming to hardly taste it. "Slow down, son." He remarked. "You'll choke."

"Sorry." Jacob mumbled. But he didn't slow down, instead shovelling it in even faster. It was like he was running a race, intending to win, but knowing he had already lost. His dark eyes were far away as if he was looking inward and questioning everything he had done.

Billy wasn't a fool. He knew that Jacob was thinking about Bella. She was on his mind constantly. He was always worried about her, fearful that she was going to do something reckless when he wasn't with her. His anxieties were taking a toll on him. He already ran double the amount of patrol shifts his brothers did all in an attempt to keep her safe, whether it was really from Victoria, or more from herself, Billy wasn't sure.

"You can't be responsible for her all the time, Jake." He said cautiously. "She has to do that herself."

Something broke inside Jacob and his face reflected his anguish as he stared at his father hopelessly. "I don't think I'm strong enough to do it anymore." He confessed hoarsely.

For his boy to admit something like that was troubling. Billy had never heard his son sound so defeated before. And that was saying something considering the traumatic times they had both lived through. "You are the strongest person I know." Billy reached out to his son and took his shaking hand in his. "Things will get better."

"Will they?" Jacob hung his head and exhaled deeply. His emotions were seesawing all over the place. All night he had been reliving in his nightmares what had happened the evening before. If Charlie hadn't come home when he did, then Bella would be on her way to Italy right now, facing death or worse. "I'm so tired, Dad. I tried to fix Bella, but it didn't work. I thought she was getting better. I mean she was smiling more and didn't seem so sad all the time. And then..."

"Then what?" Billy prompted him when Jacob fell silent.

Jacob wanted to bite his tongue. He wish he hadn't started this conversation. His father had caught him in a vulnerable moment. "Nothing...forget I said anything."

"Jake, don't brush me off like that. I want to help. Talk to me. What are you not saying?"

Moisture glistened in Jacob's eyes as he raised his head to meet his father's steady gaze. He saw nothing but empathy on Billy's face and he gave in. Carrying this burden alone had been slowly eating away at him since it had happened. "I thought Bells was getting better." He said again. "We arranged to go cliff diving. But I was delayed. The weather turned stormy. I never for one moment thought she would go without me."

"Are you telling me Bella jumped off the cliff in that storm?" Billy asked in horror. "That's suicidal."

"I only just got to her in time." Jacob collapsed against the table as he tried to stifle a sob. "The current was so strong that even I was struggling against the tide. If it been a few moments later..." He left the rest unsaid.

"Oh, Jacob. Oh, my boy." Billy rolled his chair forward so he could embrace his son better. Jacob was still trembling as his unhappiness overwhelmed him. "I'm so sorry you've been carrying this burden all by yourself."

"I love her so much, Dad." Jacob moaned. "But half the time she doesn't even see me. I'm trying to be a good friend but it's getting harder and harder. I don't think I can do this anymore. It hurts too much. I begged her to stay but it wasn't enough. She was going to leave anyway. If Charlie hadn't come home when he did she would be with _him_ right now. Why am I not enough, Dad? Why?"

"You are enough." Billy said huskily as he did his best to comfort his distressed son. Jacob was suffering his first heartbreak and it was killing him emotionally. Billy felt every bit of his child's suffering. "You have done everything you could for Bella. No one could have asked for more. But sometimes in these types of situations its best to take a step back."

"But she needs me." Jacob whispered.

"And what about what you need?" Billy argued fiercely. "What you need is important too. Maybe it's time you spoke up and told her that, and if she still doesn't understand, then you have to have the courage to walk away."

* * *

Bella had locked herself in the bathroom. Alice had called several times but she had been unable to answer her cell, not with Charlie watching her every move as he pretended to do some paperwork. She was in torment as she agonised over what was happening to Edward. Eventually she had escaped upstairs to the bathroom for some privacy and so she could ring Alice back.

"Bella." Alice answered after the first ring.

"Oh, Alice, thank god. What's happening?" Bella bit what was left of her nails as she waited in trepidation for her response.

"I can't be sure, I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind...A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square...mostly things that would expose them-he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction." Alice confided in a low whisper.

"No." Bella moaned in despair. "I should be with you."

"Thank your wolf boy for that." Alice said sourly.

Her bitter rejoinder irked Bella enough to pierce the veil of her grief over Edward and she found herself defending him. "Jake had nothing to do with this."

"Are you sure about that? It was awfully convenient that Charlie came home."

"He told me he didn't contact Charlie and I believe him. I trust Jacob more than anyone. He wouldn't lie to me." Bella snapped.

"You can be so naive, Bella. It's obvious he's in love with you. We all do crazy things for love." Alice chided her like a child.

"Like me." Bella thought sadly. She didn't express this thought aloud, instead she questioned Alice some more. "Are the others coming to help?" She asked desperately.

"No." Alice said shortly.

"Why?"

"Two reasons." She whispered. "The first-we could all try and stop Edward ourselves-if Emmet could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive. But we can't sneak up on Edward. And if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act that much faster. He'll throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down."

"And the second?" Bella whispered back in frustration.

"That's the second reason of course. Because if we are all there and the Volturi kill Edward, they'll fight them, Bella." Alice continued beseechingly. "If there was any chance we could win...if there was a way that the four of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can't, and, Bella, I can't lose Jasper like that."

"But you would risk my life," Bella thought. For the first time she felt a flicker of anger toward Edward flare up inside. He was risking everyone's life and for what? Guilt? It certainly wasn't for love. He had made it clear before he left that he didn't love her anymore.

"Couldn't Edward hear you, though?" Bella persisted. "Wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that I was alive, and there was no point to this?"

"If he were listening." Alice sighed heavily. "But believe it or not, it's possible to lie with your thoughts. If you had really died, I would have still tried to stop him. And I would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as I could. He knows that."

There was a sharp rap on the bathroom door and Bella was forced to cut the call short. She ground her teeth together in mute frustration as she fired off a quick text to Alice explaining why.

"Bells, come out here. We need to talk." Charlie said through the locked door.

"I'm coming." Bella said in annoyance as she flushed the toilet to keep up the pretence. She made a show of running the tap water and washing her hands before finally unlocking the door. "You don't need to follow me to the bathroom as well." She accused as she tried to brush past Charlie.

"Don't I?" Charlie pulled her back around to face him.

"What is it?" Bella was having difficulty reading his expression. His eyes were tight and his jaw tense.

"I just got off the phone to Billy. He told me about the cliff diving, Bella. What the hell were you thinking? Were you trying to hurt yourself?"

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews! This is another really depressing chapter I'm afraid. It took me days to write and I nearly abandoned it several times. Anyway here is the end result. Feel free to vent your frustration in the reviews, LOL. I might join you.**_

**Part Three**

Bella turned ghostly pale as she tried to avoid her father's eyes. Her sense of betrayal was acute. She wanted to believe it wasn't Jacob who had betrayed her trust and told Billy about her reckless dive. Maybe it was Sam. It sounded more like something the packs Alpha would do.

"Bella, answer me." Charlie demanded when she didn't immediately respond.

"It was for recreational purposes. It was just a bit of fun. Jake and his friends do it all the time." Bella shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Because Jake and his friends wouldn't even think about doing something so stupid in the middle of a storm. Billy told me what a close call it was. Jake just got to you in time. How could you be so reckless?" Charlie tried to calm down. Bella was being so nonchalant about it. She could have died and she just didn't seem to care.

"You're making too much of this." Bella said defensively.

"Am I?" Charlie replied gruffly. He rubbed a hand over his face before looking imploringly at his daughter again. "It was bad enough when you went through that zombie phase. You were depressed and I was struggling to help you." He continued sadly. "All those nightmares you suffered. It went on for months. Then you seemed to finally come out of it. You began hanging around with Jake and your moods improved. Sometimes you even smiled and laughed. I was hopeful that you were through the worst of it. And I attributed that to Jake."

"Jake has helped me." Bella agreed, latching onto this to try and dissuade Charlie from probing further. "I am better now."

"Are you? Really?" Charlie shook his head. "I don't think so. I think you just got better at hiding it. I think you've been using Jake as an emotional crutch, and I was so relieved to see you doing better, that I allowed it to happen." He sighed heavily, his voice heavy with guilt. "And that wasn't fair to him or to you. I'm sorry, kiddo."

"You're wrong." Bella protested tremulously. "Jake's my friend. My best friend."

"Of course he is. The boy adores you. I think you know that and it made it easier for you to get him to do what you wanted."

"Are you accusing me of using Jake?"

"Not consciously." Charlie tried to reach out to her but Bella retreated from him. Resentful tears were glimmering in her eyes and she was breathing heavily as if she had just run a long race. Charlie's arms dropped back to his sides and he sighed again. "Look Jake's young. He's only sixteen. It's easy to forget that sometimes because he looks so much older. Billy said the boy's worn out. He's at his wits end trying to figure out what to do for the best. You diving off that cliff really freaked him out."

"So it was Jake who told you." Bella felt suddenly bereft. Out of everyone in her life, Jacob was the one she counted on the most. She couldn't believe that he could be so duplicitous. She kept his secrets. He was supposed to keep hers. That's what friends did. They had each other's backs.

"Don't go blaming the kid." Charlie chided her gently. "He's just worried about you and carrying the emotional burden alone was getting too much."

"So I'm a burden now?" Bella said shakily.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Charlie refuted.

Bella's arms slipped around her waist as she tried to hold herself together. Jacob's betrayal was too much on top of the fraught situation with Edward. She needed Jacob's support, she craved it. Without him to shore her up, her world was crumbling around her. But now his support was gone. He had given up her darkest secret to her father. It was unforgivable.

"Bells, I need you to calm down." Charlie spoke to her softly like he would to a wild animal. Tears were dribbling out of her eyes and sliding down her cheeks. Billy was right to tell him about the cliff diving. Bella was far from better. She had obviously tried to patch herself up, but the news about Edward had ripped the band aid off again and left her emotional wound raw and bleeding. It just gave Charlie another reason to hate Cullen.

"Leave me alone." Bella whispered hoarsely. "You don't understand anything."

"Believe me or not but I actually do." Charlie said roughly. "I've been where you are."

Bella shook her head in denial. "I don't believe you."

"You didn't see me after your mother left with you." Charlie reminded her. He linked his fingers behind his head and exhaled sharply as if at some remembered pain. "I shut down just like you did. It was Billy and Harry who pulled me out of it. I was fortunate to have such good friends."

For the first time Bella's eyes flicked to his. Charlie had never spoken about Renee leaving before. He was always so self contained, often distant and hard to read. She couldn't imagine him feeling the same utter despair and grief that she suffered when Edward abandoned her. He wasn't capable of those type of emotions. "It's not the same."

"It's exactly the same." Charlie said sharply. "Do you think you are the only one who feels things deeply? It's just some of us don't show it as openly as others, that doesn't mean that we still aren't suffering inside."

Bella's lower lip trembled as she fell silent and watched him warily. She wasn't used to Charlie being so candid about his feelings. It was odd to equate this conversation with the stoic and reserved man that she knew. "I didn't mean to belittle your heartache, Dad. But my situation is different."

"You are not the first person to lose someone, Bella." Charlie exhaled again as he realised his frustration at the situation was careering out of control. Treating Bella with kid gloves hadn't worked, but being bullish with her wouldn't work either. She needed to hear plain facts. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh." He apologised. "We all deal with things in our own way. But it's like you're holding onto the pain deliberately-like you enjoy wallowing in it or something. It's sad that your first proper relationship ended, kiddo. But _him_ leaving is not the end of the world. There are others out there who are more deserving of your time and love."

"Like you ever moved on?" Bella sneered. "Charlie Swan-the eternal bachelor."

Charlie visibly flinched as if she had slapped him. He swallowed thickly before responding to her verbal taunt. "Perhaps there is some truth in that." He conceded. "But that's my story not yours. There's something more at play here. Something that I don't understand. I think you could do with having another woman's perspective."

"If I wanted that then I would have talked to mom already."

Charlie rolled his eyes at this assertion. He knew Renee loved Bella, but she was useless at dealing with the hard stuff. That's part of the reason why she had stayed away and left Charlie to deal with the emotional fallout of Edward Cullen leaving. If she had really wanted to help she would have insisted Bella return to live with her in Jacksonville, or at least paid a visit, but instead she hid behind the usual well worn out clichés and kept her distance.

"Come on, let's get outta here." He said suddenly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Bella replied, stubbornly standing her ground. She was desperate to call Alice again. This back and forth with Charlie was wasting valuable time.

"So, you want to do this the hard way, huh?" Charlie's eyes narrowed as he stared her down. "If you don't come with me right now, Bells, I'll call the doc over here to assess you."

"You wouldn't?" Bella exclaimed in horror.

"Don't force my hand, kiddo. I'm not playing around here. It's your choice."

* * *

Sue welcomed Charlie and Bella in with a smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Bella was shocked that her father had brought her to the Clearwater's. Sue was still clearly grieving for Harry. The last thing the poor woman needed was to be burdened with their problems. Bella shot her father a resentful glance as he followed her into the house.

"Take a seat, Bella." Sue said as she entered the huge kitchen, which took up most of the rear of the house. She noticed Bella gazing around the large room admiringly. It was stuffed with the latest gadgets and looked pristine as if it was hardly used. Sue laughed darkly. "I'm not much of a cook, Bella. But I hear you are."

"Yeah." Bella looped a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled nervously. She was feeling very uncomfortable. She wondered where Seth and Leah were. The last person they would want to see was her, Leah especially. She hoped they wouldn't be back anytime soon. She took a seat at the big table and sat stiffly, wondering what to do. How could Charlie think it was a good idea to bring her here? Was Sue the female perspective he was talking about? She hardly knew Harry's widow. Her father was being ridiculous.

"Why don't you go visit with Billy?" Sue hinted to Charlie.

"Right." Charlie said gruffly. He looked at a crestfallen Bella. "Swing by the Black's when you're done here, kiddo."

"Fine." Bella was barely polite. She wanted to rage at her father, but it was impossible with Sue in the same room.

"Okay." Charlie nodded his head and shot Harry's widow a grateful smile. "I'll be on my way."

It was clear to Bella now that this had all been prearranged. She was beginning to think this was all Billy's doing. He must have spoken to Sue before contacting Charlie. She shifted in her chair awkwardly before raising her eyes to meet Sue's astute gaze. "I'm sorry to intrude." She apologised. "Um...and I'm sorry about Harry."

"My husband was a good man." Sue said with difficulty.

"He was." Bella agreed faintly. "I really liked him."

"Uh huh." Sue frowned slightly, suddenly reminding Bella of her daughter, Leah. "He was worried about you, though."

"What?" Bella was taken aback. "He didn't...I..."

"Let's not waste time here, Bella." Sue interjected abruptly. "Charlie brought you here to talk to me. Of course he's in the dark about a lot of things." She didn't hide her regret at this but soldiered on anyway. "We're all concerned about you."

"I'm fine." Bella persisted stubbornly.

"Jumping off cliffs shows that you are far from fine." Sue admonished her. "I'm a nurse, Bella."

"I know." Bella muttered.

"Which means I've been around girls who've been in a similar situation to yours-"

"I get what you are trying to do but my situation is different." Bella interrupted the older woman impatiently.

"You're right. Those girls were never under the sway of a controlling vampire."

Bella gasped at Sue's bluntness. She could see who Leah Clearwater took after. She tried to give Harry's widow some leeway. She had just lost her husband and she was only talking to Bella as a favour to both Billy and Charlie, but it didn't give her an excuse to make presumptions. "You don't know anything about my relationship with E..." She exhaled painfully as she tried to say Edward's name. Her heart constricted at the thought of him out in Volterra, all alone, and at the mercy of the Volturi. Even though he had placed himself there deliberately, it was still killing her not knowing whether Alice was going to get there in time to rescue him. "He's not any of those things you said." She continued painfully. "You don't know him."

"Tell me about him, then." Sue challenged her. "Persuade me otherwise."

"I can't talk about him." Bella whispered painfully.

"Are you afraid if you say it out loud that it will make you see what is so obvious to the rest of us?" Sue ducked her head and peered into Bella's angry eyes. "You can glare at me all you want, Bella. Leah does the same." Her brow furrowed as she thought about her own troubled daughter. "You are so similar in the way you hold onto things that are bad for you. You wallow and she rages."

"I don't want to be rude but this isn't getting us anywhere." Bella's tone was barely polite now.

A grim smile pushed away the grief shining in Sue's dark eyes momentarily. "I'm glad to see you still have some fire inside of you, Bella. It's probably what's kept you going. Deep down inside you must resent the vampire for the way he treated you. In your darkest moments you must question your relationship with him."

Tears pooled in Bella's eyes as she scraped her chair back. "It's none of your business."

Sue sat back in her chair and shrugged wearily. "I've been where you are, Bella. I see the signs. Before I met Harry I was in a very bad relationship. He may not have been a vampire, but he still managed to drain the life out of me, and when he eventually tired of me and left, I was like a broken doll. I had no one to pull my strings you see."

Bella's jaw pulsed as she stared at the older woman warily. "I'm sorry that happened to you, but, again, our situations are very different."

"Are they?" Sue questioned as she stood up and stared Bella down. "From what I hear as soon as you met him you began to isolate yourself from your friends at school. I bet he made you feel like the centre of his universe straight away. In a short amount of time he was falling for you, by saying all the right things and investing a huge amount of attention learning every detail about you."

"What's wrong with that?" Bella cried obstinately.

"I bet he came across as so caring, right?" Sue continued harshly as if Bella hadn't spoken. "I bet he was always so concerned about you, that you're safe and made it to where you said you would be."

"Don't." Bella pleaded.

"Then it's not long before that overprotective and caring behaviour crosses a threshold where it moves to unhealthy. Soon, those caring conversations about your safety become insistent. You start to anticipate them and having to explain yourself, so you decide, rather than deal with the drama, you'll just make sure to accede to his wishes just to make him happy."

Bella put her hands over her ears as she tried to block Sue's relentless voice out. "Just stop."

"Why? Is some of what I'm saying sounding familiar?"

"No." Bella shook her head in denial. "He just wanted to keep me safe. I'm a danger magnet. It follows me around, that's why he was so overprotective."

"You spent seventeen years of your life without his protection. That's bullshit." Sue snapped. She stepped forward and grabbed Bella by the shoulders and shook her a little. "Remember, I've been where you are, Bella. Little by little, your confidence, and your feelings of freedom and choice in your own life, diminish. You start to live by his schedule rather than your own, and not risk the drama of an innocent night out with the girls or meeting up with that old guy friend of yours. If you don't pull the plug at this point, things spiral out of control. You'll be left completely dependent on him, your wings clipped, any confidence you had in yourself eroded away. All taken from you by a controlling guy so he never has to face his own deep seated insecurities."

"No." Bella protested weakly. "You're wrong." Sue's harsh reality check was chipping away at her faith in Edward and she hated the older woman for it.

"He left you to crumble into dust without him, seemingly without a care, and suddenly you can't dance without him pulling your strings. So you sink into a deep depression, feeling worthless and utterly bereft without him." Sue's voice became softer and she stared bleakly over Bella's head as if she was looking backward into her own past. "And then after months of no contact he comes back into your life, saying that he needs you, that he can't live without you and you are the only one who ever understood him. He makes you feel empowered, like you are the only one who can save him. But in reality it's just another chance for him to get his hooks into you and putting you right back where he wants you."

"You have no right to say those things." Bella sobbed. "This was a mistake. My dad shouldn't have brought me here."

Sue sighed as she watched Bella run clumsily out of the room. She didn't bother to go after her. There was no point. She just hoped she had said enough to make Bella think. It was obvious by her severe reaction that some of the points had hit home. Sue's troubled gaze drifted to a picture of her own daughter and her grief at the loss of Harry intensified to a point she couldn't breathe. She had tried to save Bella from herself, she just wished she could do the same with Leah. Sue rubbed her aching temples as she sat alone in the kitchen and pondered what to do.

* * *

Bella didn't go inside the Black's house. Instead she headed to the garage to find Jacob. As soon as she saw his tall frame bent over the engine of the VW Rabbit relief flooded through her. She was supposed to be angry with him, but her need for comfort outweighed her resentment. She expected him to abandon what he was doing and turn to her with his arms wide open, and was bemused when he didn't immediately do so

"Jake?" She whispered.

Jacob slowly downed tools and stood upright. He watched her carefully, his expression guarded as he grabbed an oily rag and wiped his hands clean. "You've been crying." He said needlessly.

"Yes."

"I'm not gonna apologise for telling my dad about the cliff diving. Stay mad all you want. I don't care."

"You...you don't care?" Bella was drowning under the weight of her emotional torment.

"Stop twisting my words, Bella." Jacob moaned in frustration. "The problem is I care too much and its killing me."

"I don't...I need..." Bella stammered.

"You always need something, Bella." Jacob complained bitterly as he threw the oily rag onto the floor at his feet. "I'm so tired of this merry go round. I wish you could hear yourself. Do you even see me anymore, Bella? Do you?"

"Of course I do." Bella protested thickly.

"I don't think so. Not for a long time. You only see _him_." Jacob sounded defeated. "Billy said I should take a step back and I'm thinking maybe he's right. I'm not helping you really, Bella. I thought I was, but maybe I was just a poor substitute for who you really want. I deserve better than that."

"Jake, don't." Bella's pain was acute. The hole in her chest punctured and she found it difficult to draw air into her lungs. She needed Jacob to plug the gap, it ached less when he was with her. "None of what you said is true."

Jacob's dark eyes glimmered in the half dark. His whole demeanour was tense and he looked on the verge of tears himself. "I'm sorry, Bella. Just give me some time."

_Bella_-he kept calling her _Bella_. She was no longer Bells. "Don't do this." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." He whispered back to her as he reluctantly turned his back on her and walked away.

* * *

The garage door closing was like the lid on her tomb sealing her in the dark. Bella was physically shaking. The tremors in her body refused to stop and she wanted to be sick. She fumbled for her cell phone and pulled up Alice's number. The phone rang and rang relentlessly but no one picked up. Panicking, Bella fell to the ground and curled up into a ball and she began to sob. She was in a nightmare. Charlie's words became jumbled with Sue's in her head, with Jacob's added to the mix. She wanted to scream. The one voice she wanted to hear was Edward's just like she had on the cliff top, but he remained as silent as a grave.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews! Another difficult chapter-be warned.**_

**Part Four**

Jacob was an emotional mess when he strode back inside the house. Walking away from Bella when she was in such a state was the hardest thing he had ever done. Charlie and Billy looked at him as soon as he entered the front room. "She's outside." He said curtly. "In the garage."

"Jake." Billy tried to reach out to his son but Jacob just shook his head.

"Not now, Dad. I just want to be alone."

Charlie was already on his feet. "Thanks for what you've done for Bella, Jake."

"Just promise to look after her, Charlie. She's not in a good place." Jacob was just about holding it together himself. He didn't say anymore but retreated to his room before either man could ask him anymore questions.

"I'm sorry about this, Billy." Charlie said heavily. "'Cos Bells is suffering. He's suffering."

"Jake is strong. He'll get past it. You just concentrate on Bella now." Billy tried to summon up a reassuring smile but failed. "Just know that I'm always here if you need to vent."

"Thanks." Charlie reluctantly took his leave and headed straight for the garage and Bella.

* * *

Bella was in torment. She wished there was somewhere safe for her to go. The Black's little redwood house had ceased to be her sanctuary the second Jacob turned away from her. She tried to stop her brain working, to cocoon herself in the same numbness that had made survival possible before. But her attempts to shield herself from the pain were hopeless. She lay in the dark interior of the garage, imagining all sorts of horrific scenarios. What if Alice failed? What if she didn't reach Edward in time? She stuffed a fist into her mouth to stop herself from screaming aloud.

A shaft of sunlight pierced her melancholy. The garage doors creaked open and a shadowy figure appeared. Bella raised her head, her heart thumping wildly, her eyes searching for Jacob. It had to be him. He wouldn't abandon her. He had tried before and failed. He had come back. He always came back. But as the figure approached she realised it was too short to be Jacob. As it drew closer Bella could see it was Charlie. She wept again as her father hunkered down and lifted her into his arms. She weighed almost nothing. When he emerged into the light carrying his daughter, her face wasn't the only one wet with tears.

* * *

Charlie settled Bella into bed with a glass of warm milk. He tucked her in as if she was a small child. "Now you rest, kiddo." He said gruffly. "I just need to make a call."

Bella just stared listlessly at the glass cupped in her lifeless hands. If she wasn't breathing she could have been taken for a marble statue. Her skin was so white it was almost translucent. He was losing her again. Charlie could see it. He swallowed down his fears and left her alone so he could put the next part of his plan into action.

Right on cue, as soon as he left, Bella's cell phone began to vibrate as she received an incoming call. She slopped the warm milk all over herself as she lunged for the phone. Alice's name flashed up on the screen. Bella scrambled to answer it as she ignored the sour smell of milk sinking through the thin material of her tank top.

"Oh, Alice, I've been falling apart waiting for your call. What's happening?"

"I'm waiting for my connecting flight out of New York." Alice sounded harassed. In the distance Bella could hear the sounds of other people talking. The airport must be busy.

"Anything new?" Bella asked in a low voice. She was fearful of being overheard by Charlie.

"Not exactly." Alice breathed in a voice Bella could barely catch. She was speaking lower than a whisper. "He's getting closer to his goal. He's deciding how he is going to ask."

Bella began to dwell on the terrifying possibilities of what this could mean. She should be out there with Alice, not in Forks sinking into another depression. "I'm scared, Alice. Why is Edward putting us through hell like this?"

Her question sounded like a criticism. She heard Alice's sharp intake of breath. "He's doing it because he thinks you are dead, Bella. He was never going to outlive you for long."

Bella was confused by that assertion. Edward had made it clear that he didn't love her anymore when he left without a backward glance. She was struggling to understand his motives in sacrificing his existence just because he was under the assumption she had died. Why would that matter? Surely guilt alone wouldn't drive him to do something so drastic.

"Bella, the Volturi are deliberating." Alice interrupted her whirling thoughts and she tried to concentrate. "But they've decided to tell him no."

"That's good, isn't it?" Bella whispered as hope sprang eternal in her heart again. "He'll leave and you can find him."

"It's not as simple as that." Alice said testily. "They're interested in him-they think his talent could be useful. They are going to offer him a place with them."

"What will he say?"

"I can't see that yet, but I'll bet it's colourful." Alice sounded almost gleeful at the prospect of her adopted brother insulting the most powerful vampires in the world. "This is the first good news-the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him-'wasteful,' that's the word Aro will use-and that may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better able I will be to reach him."

Bella's hopes faded again. Edward was still set on ending himself. There were still too many factors going against them. Panic began to swell up inside her chest and she found it difficult to breathe.

"Honestly, I wish I had just changed you myself." Alice complained. "This has all gotten beyond ridiculous."

"What?" Bella was taken aback by this statement. She became rigid, frozen with shock.

"I've been debating about it for a while." Alice continued. When Bella didn't immediately respond, she became impatient. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"I..." Bella gasped as she tried to calm down. She had given up on the possibility of becoming one of them as soon as Edward had cut her off. She hadn't allowed herself to think about the prospect again. And now Alice was essentially offering to do it.

"But of course I could end up just killing you. I'm not sure that I actually can." Alice sighed heavily. "My connecting flight has been called. I have to go."

Bella's heart beat faster. "Stay safe." She whispered frantically.

"I'll be in touch." Alice promised before ending the call.

* * *

Afterwards Bella rested against her pillows and pondered over everything that Alice had said. She was still in shock over the revelation that the little psychic was considering changing her after all that had happened. There was little point now. Bella had only been set on joining the vampire coven so she could be with Edward forever. Her greatest fear had been growing old while he remained forever young. Each year would separate them further as she withered and became gnarled and wrinkled. It had been the subject of her worst nightmares for a long time after he had left her.

She felt tired and so lethargic. She couldn't even summon the energy to change her tank top. The spilled milk was drying now into a dark stain. A light tap on her door disturbed her fragile peace.

Bella scowled as she looked toward the door. It had to be Charlie. "What do you want?" She snapped.

The door opened and to her astonishment Angela Weber sidled into the room. She smiled apologetically and adjusted her big glasses on the end of her nose. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Bella." She said softly.

"Angela?" Bella scrambled to regain her composure. What the hell was Charlie thinking letting Angela into the house when she was in this state. "It's good to see you." She replied weakly.

"Oh, that's good." Angela's shoulders sagged in relief. "Your dad did warn me you were feeling a bit under the weather."

"You could day that." Bella agreed. _'Feeling a bit under the weather'_ was a massive understatement. She felt rotten and absolutely shaken to her core. It had been an emotionally exhausting day. Trust Charlie to be oblivious to the fact that what she needed was to be alone so she could rest in peace while she processed everything.

Angela perched on the edge of the bed and fiddled with her glasses again. She seemed nervous. "So, we haven't hung out in a while." She said eventually.

"No." Bella felt guilty. She had blown off Angela's attempts to spend time together so often that she was continually surprised when the other girl carried on offering her the hand of friendship regardless. "I've been kinda busy."

"With your new friend?" Angela blushed slightly as she glanced coyly at Bella. "I remember what it's like when you start a new relationship. You want to be with them all the time. I was like that with Ben in the beginning."

"Huh?" Bella was confused for a moment until she realised that Angela was talking about Jacob. Thinking of him brought tears to her eyes. Of course it was an easy assumption for the other girl to make- she had been practically joined at the hip with Jacob these last few weeks. "Jake and I...we're just...friends." She mumbled, feeling her face burn at the obvious lie. Jacob was much more than a mere friend. Their relationship had been teetering toward something more for ages. It might have tipped that way if Alice hadn't suddenly come back unexpectedly. Her mind travelled back to that night in the kitchen when Jacob had so nearly kissed her and her cheeks turned rosy at the memory.

Angela raised her eyebrows at the reference that Jacob and Bella were just friends. She clearly didn't believe it, but she refrained from commenting further on the exact definition of their relationship. "It does my heart good to know that you've been able to make a new _friend_ since Edward." She continued with a relieved smile as she emphasised the word friend. "Though Mike will be disappointed."

"Oh." A hysterical giggle burst forth from Bella's throat at the mention of Mike Newton's inexplicable crush on her. For just a second she felt like just another normal teenage girl discussing boys.

Angela laughed too. She took Bella's hand in her own and squeezed it. "I've been so worried about you. I'm glad you've come out the other side." She said sincerely.

Bella's fingers trembled in Angela's tight grip as her sudden mirth died. "It still hurts." She confessed timidly.

"It was your first heartbreak." Angela smiled kindly. "I read they can be the worst."

Bella sucked in a deep breath as she tried to contain her tears. "Yeah, it sucks." She whispered.

"You can talk to me about it." Angela offered. "Maybe just getting some stuff off your chest will help. I promise I won't judge."

"I think that's all everyone's been doing lately." Bella bit back a sob. "No one understands how intense my relationship was with Edwa..." She strained to say his name aloud. "He wasn't controlling." She said in defence of him .

"Is that what they've been saying?" Angela probed gently.

"Yes." Bella looked at Angela pleadingly. "You don't think that, right?"

"What do you think?" Angela pushed the question back to her.

"He was just overprotective."

"Okay." Angela agreed amiably.

"He always worried about me." Bella continued defensively.

"Of course."

"I mean his over protectiveness could sometimes be construed as something more than it was."

"Maybe." Angela said easily.

"I was always getting into scrapes you see." Bella chewed on her lower lip anxiously. "I'm a magnet for danger."

"Uh huh." Angela was non committal.

"It was just easier to go along with what he wanted. You know... just to keep the peace."

"Right." Angela's brow furrowed.

"You think that's wrong?" Bella challenged when she saw Angela frown.

"I never said that." Angela ventured cautiously.

"It's pointless arguing all the time." Bella pressed.

"But it's not arguing. It's merely expressing an opinion, though. He respected your opinions, right?"

"Always." Bella stated firmly.

"Then why did you always concede to his?" Angela asked innocently.

Bella opened her mouth and closed it again. She really didn't have a good response to that one. This time she was the one frowning as she became lost in thought. She hadn't always conceded to what Edward wanted. Taking her to prom when she had made it clear she didn't want to go flipped to the forefront of her mind. He had tricked her into going at the last minute by keeping it a secret. Bella pushed that traitorous thought aside. Tricked was too strong a word. But once her brain conjured up this scenario-other occasions where Edward had used subtle manipulation to get his own way pricked at her subconscious.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Angela asked in concern when she noted the troubled expression on her face.

"I don't know." Bella's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she met Angela's worried gaze. "If Ben...if Ben admitted he'd...um...been in your room watching you sleep with...without your knowledge. How would you feel about that?" She tested the ground dubiously-fearful of Angela's response. Her friend was in a normal, healthy teenage relationship. She had no fear of the supernatural or monsters hanging over her head.

Angela made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. "That's creepy. I would cut him loose. That's a violation of my pri..." She paused, looking at Bella intently. "Did that happen to you?"

A knock on the bedroom door interrupted their girl talk. Charlie poked his head around and smiled cautiously. "Sorry to interrupt. Can I get you girls anything?" He offered.

"I'd really like some juice." Angela said brightly. "I'll come down and help if you'd like."

"That's very kind of you." Charlie was touched. "Can I get you some as well, Bells? It's great to see you've got some colour back in your cheeks at last."

"Yeah." Bella mumbled as she sat back against her pillows and stared into space. Her conversation with Angela had given her a lot to think about. She rubbed her aching temples as she tried to sort through her tangled thoughts.

* * *

"I appreciate you coming around like this at such short notice." Charlie thanked Angela. "Bells finds it difficult to open up to me, but she always spoke so highly of you."

"No problem. I'm glad to help. I've been worried about her myself." Angela took the glasses of freshly poured juice from Charlie's hands and smiled at him reassuringly. "I better get back to her."

"Okay." Charlie watched Angela leave the kitchen and he sagged against the counter in relief. The Lutheran minister's daughter was such a sensible, insightful girl. It would be good for Bella to spend time with her peers without the emotional burden that Jacob was forced to bear when he was around her. For the first time in a long while Charlie felt a glimmer of hope.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Five**

It was midnight and Bella was still wide awake. She had been tossing and turning for hours, worrying about Edward, and panicking that Alice wasn't going to reach Italy in time to stop him doing something reckless to provoke the Volturi. She had managed to sneak in one more quick phone call to Alice after Angela left.

"He keeps changing plans so quickly. It was so chaotic at first." Alice had confided. "There was a bad hour. He'd decided to go hunting in the city."

Nausea had welled in Bella's throat at the prospect of Edward sacrificing an innocent human to his unhappiness. She was shocked he had even considered it. "Please, tell me he's not going through with that?" She'd begged Alice.

"It got very close." Alice whispered. "But he changed his mind at the last minute. He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle."

The call had been cut short again when Bella heard Charlie's heavy tread on the stairs. It was getting increasingly frustrating trying to work out what Edward was going to do next. After her revealing conversations with both Sue and Angela, for the first time Bella was experiencing doubts. Those doubts kept eating away at her and she was agonising over every precious memory she had of Edward and their time together.

Bella gave up on trying to sleep. She threw her duvet to one side and climbed out of the bed. She wandered over to the window and pushed the heavy drapes aside. A shaft of light immediately flooded her room. The moon was suspended low in the sky. For once there was little cloud cover and the round orb shed enough light for Bella to get a clear view of the back garden and surrounding trees. Moving into the moonlight was a large wolf. He was a reddish brown colour, his fur glossy and thick. His large paws kissed the earth with a lightness that seemed at odd with his large size. The russet wolf moved restlessly back and forth. It was Jacob-still keeping watch over her-despite admitting he needed space.

Bella's erratic breathing slowed down. Somehow she was comforted knowing that he was close by. The selfish part of her wanted to run to him-she knew he wouldn't reject her a second time-but the other part of her understood that she had to respect his wishes. Reluctantly Bella moved away from the window and drifted back to bed.

* * *

There was an annoying buzz in her ear. Bella groaned as her heavy lids fluttered open. She was disorientated and hadn't realised she had fallen asleep. The big red numbers on her clock radio said it was five in the morning. The irritating buzzing sound continued, it took her a moment to realise it was her cell phone vibrating on the pillow next to her. She reached out to snap on the small lamp by her bed before hastily answering the call.

"What took you so long?" Alice said testily. "I can't see you at all. It's like I'm stumbling around in the dark as far as you are concerned. With those damn dogs constantly on watch it's messing with my ability to see you."

"Don't call them that." Bella whispered harshly, feeling irked by Alice's derogatory comments about the wolf pack. "They are out there night after night, risking their lives to keep me safe from Victoria."

Alice was taken aback by Bella's rebuttal. "I am not disputing that, Bella." She backtracked hastily. "I am just saying their presence is making things extremely difficult."

Bella rubbed her aching forehead as she tried to shrug off her irritation with Alice. Tiredness was making her tetchy. "What's happening now?" She asked instead.

"Edward has decided to keep it simple. He's just going to walk out into the sun."

Bella's brow furrowed as she pondered this latest plan of Edward's. Just walking out into the sun didn't sound risky in the slightest if he were an ordinary human but with his sparkly skin he would attract attention straight away. She imagined Edward in the meadow-glowing, shimmering like his skin was made of a million diamond facets-it was burned in her memory. No human who saw that would ever forget. The Volturi couldn't possibly allow it. Not if they wanted to keep their city inconspicuous.

"You have to stop him." Bella pleaded. "Will you reach him in time?"

"If I had you with me then my plan would have run smoothly." Alice sounded defeated. "Now I just don't know. There are so many ways that this could go wrong that I've given up counting."

"You'll be too late." Bella whispered, her throat closing in panic.

"Right now, he's leaning toward the melodramatic. He wants the biggest audience possible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there. He'll wait until the sun is exactly overhead."

"Oh, Alice, why is he being so selfish?" Bella did little to disguise the anger in her tone. "He's risking your life, exposure...everything. And for what? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Bella?" Alice was astonished at Bella's open condemnation of Edward. She wasn't used to hearing any kind of criticism of her brother, especially from her. "Edward is going through a hard time. He thinks you're dead. What did you expect him to do?"

Bella's lower lip quivered and tears sprang into her eyes. The hurt in Alice's tone pained her, but she couldn't shrug off her resentment toward Edward. "I didn't mean to upset you, Alice. I'm sorry." She whispered.

Her swift apology seemed to mollify Alice. Bella could overhear the pilot on the intercom, announcing, first in French and then in English, the plane's imminent landing.

"I'm nearly there." Alice said eventually.

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?" Bella asked anxiously. She was worried Edward would pre-empt Alice and reveal himself before the little psychic had even reached the city's walls.

"That depends on how fast you drive. I've got to go now, Bella. I will be in touch again soon."

"Stay safe." Bella urged Alice before their connection was severed.

* * *

Bella's ghostly pale face at the window was at the forefront of Jacob's mind as he phased back into his human form. He slipped on his shorts and walked tiredly toward the little redwood house he called home. He was finding it increasingly difficult to stay away from Bella as the hours passed. He had pulled a double duty shift just so he could stay near her house in Forks. At one point he got so desperate to see her that he had deliberately shown himself when he noticed her standing at the window. Sam had ripped him a new one for that. He knew she had seen him-she was staring straight at him-and he'd expected her to run out of the house and come over to him. He had been flooded with disappointment when she hadn't.

Jacob missed her. He couldn't help it. It had taken every last bit of his willpower to turn away from her in the first place. He hated himself for doing it, but was so beaten down he felt he had no choice. But asking for space didn't mean she wasn't constantly on his mind. He worried about her every minute of every day. But despite his misgivings that Bella couldn't function without his support, the exact opposite was proved to be true. She was doing just fine. According to Billy-who'd been getting regular updates from Charlie-Bella was doing just fine. She even had one of her girl friends come over.

This knowledge should have made Jacob happy. But it didn't. He couldn't help but feel resentful. Didn't she miss him, too? There had been no secret phone calls. She made no attempt to contact him. All he got was radio silence. At least when he had been forced to abandon her when he first phased she had stubbornly come looking for him. But not this time. It was like she was happy that all contact between them was broken. Didn't she care enough to try and put some effort into changing his mind? Obviously the only thing on her mind was the damn leech.

"Bad night?" Billy asked when Jacob came bounding into the house.

"It was quiet." Jacob said sullenly as he went straight for the food that his father had already laid out for him.

"I was expecting you hours ago." Billy joined Jacob at the table and scanned his face worriedly. "You seem worked up."

"I'm fine." Jacob nearly choked as he shoved in a whole slice of toast.

"You don't look fine. You're all done in." Billy put his hand on Jacob's arm, indicating for him to slow down. "Talk to me, Jake." He pleaded. "Stop bottling everything up."

"It's like she doesn't even care." Jacob complained as he picked up another slice of toast and buttered it furiously.

"Ah, Bella." Billy sighed. "Have you seen her?"

"From a distance." Jacob admitted. "She was looking out of her window and spotted me."

"And how did she manage to catch a glimpse of you? Shouldn't you be hiding out of sight." Billy asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I might have accidentally shown myself." Jacob admitted irritably as he took a huge bite out of the toast and chewed.

"Accidentally on purpose, huh?" Billy looked at his son with sympathy. "I know you miss her, but it's for the best that you give each other space right now. You said yourself it was all getting too much."

"Not for her." Jacob added bitterly. "Apparently she's doing just fine. She even had a girls night in yesterday."

"And that makes you jealous?" Billy exclaimed. "Bella spending time with another girl is a good thing. Charlie arranged it. He didn't want Bella wallowing so he organised for Angela Weber to come over. I spoke to him again last night, he really thinks that this Angela has given Bella another perspective on things. If you add what Sue planted in her head yesterday, then it's given Bella a lot to think about."

"I want that." Jacob finished the last of the toast and poured himself a glass of milk from the carton. "I know I'm being selfish. I just miss her that's all."

"I know you do." Billy smiled encouragingly. "Hang in there, son. I'm sure Bella will be in touch soon once she's thought things through."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews and for still following this story!**_

**Part Six**

Bella was tortured with anxiety about what was happening in Italy. The hours ticked slowly by as she waited for Alice's next call. She was an emotional mess by the time she heard her cell ring.

Charlie, who had stayed at home again to keep her company, looked up from his mountain of paperwork."Who's that?" He asked curiously.

"Angela." Bella said quickly to cover her dismay. "We're just making arrangements for a day out...shopping." Her cheeks flushed at the lie.

Charlie noticed of course but he refrained from saying anything right away. He knew the signs when Bella was lying. She had never been very good at it. "I see." He said evenly.

"I'll just take the call in my room. That way I won't disturb you." Bella gave him a weak smile, hoping he wouldn't question her too much.

Charlie kept his poker face as he nodded in agreement. "Say hi to Angela for me."

"Will do." Bella heaved a huge sigh of relief as she fled the room, taking the stairs two at a time in order to reach her bedroom quicker. She closed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She was in such a frenzy that she didn't hear Charlie creep up the stairs a moment later. He stayed as quiet as a mouse while he hovered outside her door, listening in.

* * *

"Do you see anything more?" Bella begged.

"There's something going on." Alice muttered in response. "Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What's the date today?"

Bella was confused by this question. She wasn't entirely sure, the days had been bleeding into each other since she had found out about Edward. "The nineteenth, maybe?"

"Well, that's ironic." Alice chuckled darkly.

"Why?"

"It's Saint Marcus' Day."

"Which means?" Bella was getting impatient now with this drip feeding of information. She was beginning to wonder if Alice was doing it deliberately to keep her on edge.

"The city holds a celebration every year. As the legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus-Marcus of the Volturi, in fact-drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourge. Of course that's nonsense-he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterra, so they must work." Alice said sardonically. "It's become more of a celebration of the city and recognition for the police force-after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get all the credit."

Bella didn't join in with the dark humour of the situation. She just wanted to know more about what Edward was going to do. "Is Edward intending to act during this festival?"

"Yes. They will be furious if he messes things up for them. They'll act quickly." Alice's tone was grim.

Bella bit down so hard on her lower lip that her that it began to bleed. "You have to stop him, Alice, before he goes through with the crazy plan."

"I can on-"

Bella never got to hear the rest of Alice's reply as her cell was suddenly snatched out of her hand. She spun around in alarm to find Charlie standing behind her, his expression was stern and forbidding. She opened her mouth to protest but he shot her such a furious glare that she closed it again. Bella could still hear the tinny sound of Alice calling her name, probably confused as to why she wasn't responding.

Charlie kept his formidable gaze locked on his distressed daughter as he pressed her cell phone to his ear. "Alice Cullen?" He demanded.

There was a beat of silence before Alice answered him. "It's good to hear your voice, Chief Swan. I was just checking in with Bella."

"Really?" Charlie scowled. "From what I overheard you were feeding her some bullshit story about your brother. I thought I made myself clear the last time we spoke. Have you been in contact with my daughter this whole time?"

Alice seemed to be at a loss for words. "We're friends, Charlie." She said meekly.

"You don't get to address me by my first name. " Charlie was livid. His eyes narrowed as he kept them focused on a trembling Bella. "This is the last time you speak to her, do I make myself clear?"

"Please, sir." Alice cried. "You don't understand..."

"Oh, I understand, alright. You are trying to draw Bella back in. Well it won't work. I won't have her dragged back down again, which happens every single time she is in contact with your family." Charlie snapped. "Stay. Away." He enunciated each word slowly as if Alice was deaf. "And don't bother trying to contact Bella on this number again."

"You can't confiscate my phone." Bella wailed as she tried to prise it away from her father.

"Watch me!" Charlie stood his ground. He cut Alice off and stuffed Bella's cell in the back pocket of his jeans, out of reach. "Right now it's obvious you can't be trusted. I had a suspicion that something was still going on. You were doing so well after speaking to Sue and Angela. Now Alice gets in contact and you are an emotional wreck again." He exhaled sharply as he tried to get his anger and disappointment under control. "I don't want to act like a hardass. You are eighteen. I shouldn't have to resort to tactics like this, but you're giving me no choice, Bells. If you could just see the state you're in right now. You are falling apart and it's all down to that boy and his family."

Bella dissolved into tears. She fell on her bed and stared up at him with her hands wringing in her lap. "You have no idea what you've done. You don't understand anything."

"Maybe I don't." Charlie agreed wearily. "You've always been stronger than you realise, Bells. But since you've been around that family it's like you lost that strength somewhere along the way. You need to find it again. You need to remember who you were before that boy came into your life. You need to stand on your own two feet and shout that _'I'm not a victim, anymore_.'"

"Is that how you see me?" Bella whispered hoarsely. "As a victim?"

"You are doing a damn good impression of one." Charlie sighed. He was finding this whole thing emotionally draining. He was being pushed more and more out of his comfort zone, but he would endure it if it meant getting his daughter back again. "You've got to love what's good for you, Bells. And that boy and his family are far from it. You deserve better. You deserve the whole freaking world." He ended gruffly.

Bella's lower lip quivered as fresh tears welled in her eyes. Charlie ducked down and hugged her briefly, before quickly pressing a kiss on her forehead. He then left her alone to give her time to think.

* * *

Bella woke from a nightmare of vampires with blood red eyes-shrouded in crimson ceremonial robes- gorging on Edward's hardened flesh. She managed to stifle the scream that was threatening to erupt from her sore throat. Instead she lay curled on her side, sobbing quietly. She hadn't even realised she had fallen asleep-tuckered out from the constant worry. At some point night had fallen while she dozed uneasily. Sitting up, Bella pushed her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes. The big red numbers on her clock showed it was gone midnight again. She shivered as the perspiration dried up on her skin, turning it clammy.

Like the previous night Bella wandered over to her window and peered outside. There was no handy shaft of moonlight to illuminate the scene in front of her this time. But, still, she thought she could see a darker patch weaving restlessly back and forth through the trees encroaching at the bottom of the garden. She sensed it was Jacob. No other wolf would dare come so close. An innate sense of longing to be with him pierced the melancholy weighing heavy on her heart. She missed him so much. This was the longest they had been out of contact since he had turned wolf and was ordered to stay away from her. She wondered if he missed her, too. Bella yearned for the brand of comfort that only her sun could offer her. Acting impulsively, she left the window, grabbed one of her thick hooded jackets, and left her room.

* * *

Jacob froze when he saw Bella padding across the thick grass toward him. What the hell was she doing? She was taking a big risk coming outside in the dark. Why did she have to be so reckless all the time? Instead of melting back into the trees, Jacob was forced to come out into the open. Luckily the cloud cover was still thick, so there was less chance of him being spotted.

Bella gasped when she saw the majestic wolf emerge from his hiding place. She had only been privileged to witness Jacob in his wolf form a handful of times, and she was continually struck by how beautiful he was. There was an intelligence in his dark eyes, a shyness, a sudden wariness. As she approached him carefully, she thought about Jacob and his brothers. They were so loyal to each other, just like real wolves are loyal to their kin. The Alpha wolves mated for life, the others helping to raise the puppies like an aunt or uncle might do. For a moment Bella let her guard down and her spirit rose to join his-up there in the forest where the wolves roamed.

Jacob remained entranced as he watched her suddenly bolt toward him over the wet grass. In seconds her arms were around his neck, and her cheek was pressed into his warm fur. "I know you said you needed some time. But I couldn't help it." She whispered. "But you're a wolf, so, technically, this means I'm not cheating because it wasn't your wolf who told me to stay away." She clung to him as a faint rumbling sound erupted from the base of his throat. "Don't scold me, Jacob." She chided him as if she understood exactly what he was trying to convey without words.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Seven**

Billy had a big spread waiting for Jacob when he finally came back in the early hours of the morning. He was doing everything he could to keep his son's spirits up. Jacob had been so melancholic lately as he brooded over the situation with Bella. So, when his boy was at home, Billy tried to distract him with food or anything else he could think of. He was feeling pensive when Jacob finally walked through the door-expecting to see his son's familiar downcast face-instead Jacob came in whistling.

"Hey, Dad, you okay?" He asked when he noticed his father's look of confusion.

"Are you?" Billy reflected the question back at him.

"I'm good." Jacob's dark eyes lit up when he saw all the food arrayed on the table. "You've been busy." He said as his stomach rumbled in appreciation.

"You're in a good mood." Billy rolled his chair into the kitchen after Jacob. He knew there had to be a reason behind his son's change in mood. And that reason had to be Bella. He watched wearily as Jacob loaded up his plate with food and silently debated whether to call him out on it.

Jacob was oblivious to Billy's troubled thoughts as he indulged in a wolf's favourite past time, eating. He barely tasted the food as he shovelled it in, chewed it quickly, and then swallowed. He was just starting on the bacon when his father's next question almost made him choke on it.

"Have you talked to Bella?" Billy asked bluntly as he finally decided to voice his suspicions aloud.

Jacob coughed, and his eyes watered as the food got stuck in his throat. He banged his chest with a balled up fist to dislodge the food, and dry heaved as it finally slid down his gullet. "Damn." He said breathlessly.

Billy poured him a glass of water and handed it to him. "I take that as yes." He said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. "After everything we discussed."

Jacob scowled as he chugged down the water in one gulp. "I haven't talked to Bella." He muttered.

Billy eyed him disbelievingly. "Why the sudden change in mood then? Yesterday you were all doom and gloom, today it's all sunshine and rainbows. Just admit it, son. You caved in and talked to her."

Damn, Billy was good! Jacob shifted in his chair uncomfortably as he avoided looking at his father directly. "Look, I'm not lying when I said I didn't talk to Bella." He hedged.

"Well something happened."

Jacob fidgeted again and ran his fingers through his hair restlessly. "She was at the window again and I may have accidentally shown myself."

"Accident my ass." Billy interrupted him sarcastically.

"Alright, I showed myself deliberately. I miss her, okay. I just wanted to see what she would do. It hurt when she didn't acknowledge me before. I just needed some clarification that she still gives a shit." Jacob said defensively.

"And?"

Jacob's scowl turned into a grin. He couldn't help it. The image of Bella running barefoot across the wet grass to see him rose to the forefront of his mind. "And she hugged me."

"While you were in your wolf form?" Billy was incredulous. "You can't risk her getting close to you like that. What were you thinking?"

"I'm not dangerous." Jacob said flatly as his good mood vanished like a puff of smoke.

"I never said you were."

"And Bella wasn't scared of me. She hugged me for like two minutes. I stayed perfectly still. She even apologised and said she knew she was breaking the rules. She needed the contact...and so did I." Jacob pushed his plate away and stood up.

"Jake, I'm sorry if I upset you. I just worry that's all. I don't want either of you to get hurt." Billy was sad that he had unintentionally upset his son. "Please, sit down and finish your breakfast."

Jacob hesitated for a moment before he complied and sat down again. "We were only together for five minutes max." He admitted huskily. "She just talked for a bit, I listened, and then she went back inside."

"Okay, I'm sorry I overreacted." Billy apologised again. "If it made you both feel better than that can only be a good thing."

Mollified, Jacob resumed eating, but this time more slowly.

* * *

Bella didn't go back to sleep after seeing Jacob. She was still too wired. There was so much going around and around in her head it made it difficult to concentrate. When she had hugged the big russet wolf her worries had vanished. She had been so caught up in their brief reunion that it had banished all thoughts of worry over Edward from her mind. Now that she was alone again, that's all she could focus on. She wished she knew what was happening. It was the not knowing and waiting around that was shredding her nerves. And Charlie had taken away her only point of contact with Alice. Bella had searched the house from top to bottom for her cell, but her father had hidden it well.

The hours ticked by slowly as she tried to keep herself occupied. Charlie was forced to go into a work. There had been an accident involving a young kid on a motorbike. Apparently it was quite serious. Teens and motorbikes were a big bug bear for Charlie. He had seen too many young lives ruined because they didn't handle the motorbikes responsibly. Bella felt a smidgeon of guilt about her own reckless behaviour involving the bikes that she and Jacob had fixed up together. She hadn't ridden hers in a while, but if Charlie knew about the bikes, and the reason behind why she had been so hell bent on riding them, he would definitely have her committed. Especially after the whole cliff diving incident.

Thinking about it gave Bella a chance to reflect on her past behaviour. Her fixation in indulging in reckless activities so she could hear Edward's voice had been the catalyst for bringing her and Jacob together. One thing had led on to another-suddenly it wasn't just about hearing Edward's voice-it was spending time with Jacob. One bad thing and had led to one good thing. The irony wasn't lost on Bella. It also occurred to her that if Edward hadn't left when he did her best friend wouldn't be in her life right now. Being with Edward meant isolating herself from everyone around her, it had been a necessity because of who he was and their lifestyle.

This thought preoccupied Bella for the rest of the morning. She pondered on how quickly her life changed in a heartbeat once she and Edward became official. The new friends in her life were the first casualties. She drifted away from them as she immersed herself in Edward and his family. He transferred to all her classes so they were together continuously throughout the day. After school he came around-much to Charlie's reluctance-to spend the afternoon with her. She would be alone for a couple of hours while they kept up the pretence for Charlie's sake that he had gone home, but then she would retire to bed early and he would be there in her room, waiting. Every minute of every day she lived and breathed Edward Cullen, right to the point that she not only shut out her friends but her parents too.

Sick at heart, Bella tried to distract herself by doing some housework. She went upstairs to collect the laundry. She walked into Charlie's bedroom first. His used shirts were all piled up on a chair in the corner of his room. Bella never understood why it was so difficult for Charlie to put his clothes in the laundry basket. She picked them up and scoured his room one last time before heading into her own. There was a couple of bits of her own she wanted to add to the pile. Holding the basket against her hip she headed into her room not really watching where she was going. Her right foot caught against something sharp, and she gasped in pain, dropping the basket of laundry in shock. Her big toe was throbbing. Bella felt easy tears well in her eyes as she sat down on the floor and examined her bruised toe. She rubbed it reflexively and noticed that she had chipped the nail. Irritated she looked at the floor, wondering what the hell had tripped her up. It was then she noticed that one of the floorboards was sticking up slightly.

"What the hell?" Bella mumbled under her breath as she examined it further. She pushed on it, then pulled and it lifted up easily, revealing a hole underneath. She frowned, peering into the gap at the same time.

And that's when she saw it-the photograph of her and Edward taken at her infamous eighteenth birthday party-lying face up in the hole along with the tickets Carlisle and Esme had bought her.

* * *

Time had not made her immune to the perfection of his face, and she was sure her memory had not done him justice. Her eyes traced over his pale white features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips—twisted in a smile, the straight line of his nose, the top of his forehead—partially obscured by the tangle of bronze coloured hair. Bella focused on his image in the picture for a long time. Her brown eyes filled with tears, before spilling down and splattering on the photograph she tried to hold steady in her shaking hands.

Her feelings of abandonment came back in a rush, and the familiar hole punched in her chest, gaped open, threatening to spill her heart onto the hardwood floor. One arm slipped around her body as she tried to hold herself together. She couldn't believe this photograph and the tickets had been hidden under the floor all this time. She had assumed that Edward had taken all her mementos with him when he left. The fact that he'd left them behind, hidden under the floorboards in her room, was cruel beyond belief. It was just further proof that the time they had spent together meant nothing to him.

Bella dragged herself to her feet, her tears running a river down her face. Somehow she made it down the stairs and found herself in front of the phone. Her first thought was to ring Jacob, but she knew he was probably sleeping right now. Billy would not forgive her for waking his son. So instead she made the alternate decision to ring the station.

"Can I speak to Chief Swan, please?"" She pleaded as soon as the call was answered. "I'm his daughter Bella."

She was put through straight away. "Bells, what's wrong?"

Hearing her father's concerned voice sent a flood of relief through Bella."Can you come home, Dad?" She whispered. "Something's happened."

"I'm on my way. Hold on, kiddo." Charlie promised.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Eight**

Charlie came home and found his daughter curled up on the sofa. Tears were still running down her face. He went over to her immediately and hunkered down in front of her. "What happened, kiddo?" He asked gently.

"I'm sorry I called you home." Bella apologised tearfully. She exhaled slowly as she tried to get her trembling under control. Laid beside her on the sofa was the photograph of Edward and the tickets from Carlisle and Esme.

"Don't ever be sorry for that, Bells." Charlie patted her hand reassuringly. "Just tell me what happened."

Bella sniffed and sat forward. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "I found these." She whispered, pointing to the photograph and tickets.

"Where?" Charlie snatched them up and glared at the image of Edward's smarmy face . He wanted to rip the damn photo to shreds but he managed to resist the urge and focus on his daughter instead. "I've never seen this photo of the two of you before."

"It was taken at the eighteenth birthday party Edward's family threw for me." Bella continued painfully. She drew in another sharp breath as the hole in her chest ached with sadness.

"Ah, I see." Charlie nodded his head in understanding. Now her reaction made sense. "And you just came across it again. Where? In your room?"

"Yes." Bella blinked back her tears. "It was hidden under the floorboards."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed. "How did it get there?" He was confused. If Bella was the one who had hidden the stuff away, then why was she acting so shocked upon finding them again. Unless someone else was to blame. "It was him, wasn't it? Cullen did this." He guessed.

Bella was finding it difficult to speak. Her throat was so tight it felt like she was being strangled. "It must have been before he left."

"When we were all out of the house?" Charlie asked derisively. "Which means he must have broken in. The cowardly son of a bitch." He cursed as his anger started to rise. "If he's been inside this house without my permission once he could have done it bef..." His voice tailed off when he noticed Bella's face pale considerably. "My god, he has been in here uninvited before. Don't deny it, Bells. I can tell by your face. When?"

Bella's whole body trembled as she gazed at her father in anguish. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Seeing the emotional state she was in calmed Charlie down. He chucked the photograph and the tickets on to the floor and sat down beside his daughter. "I'm not mad at you, Bells." He said gruffly. "I'm mad at him. He keeps hurting you over and over. It's like even when he's not here he manages to maintain some kind of sick hold on you. I don't like to see you suffering like this. You can tell me the truth. I won't get mad, Bells, I promise. Do you know of other times he's been in here without our knowledge."

Bella wanted to be sick. Edward had been in her room countless times watching her sleep without her knowing about it. It was only after they got together that he confessed to what he had been doing. She remembered Angela's reaction when she had cautiously broached the subject with her. Angela had been dismayed at the very possibility of Ben doing the same thing to her. But Bella remembered barely batting an eyelid at the time. She was so enamoured by Edward that she had found it romantic and not creepy.

"Edward used to come into my room in the beginning and watch me sleep." Bella confessed in a low voice. She never thought in a million years she would ever admit anything like that to Charlie, but circumstances had made things shift between them. Charlie had shown her that she could entrust him with some of her secrets, and that he was willing to listen, and not explode with anger when he didn't like what he heard.

"I see." Charlie's eyes were tight. He was seething inside, but he kept his tone even so as not to upset Bella further.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Bella whispered, feeling ashamed.

"Don't be sorry for something he did." Charlie took her hand and squeezed it. "This is on him. I know how you feel about him, but you have to understand what he did was wrong. He was violating your privacy. If I had known about it there would have been consequences."

"I know." Bella's long eyelashes were thick with tears.

"How did he get into the house, Bells?" Charlie asked carefully. He let go of her hand and smoothed her hair back from her forehead instead. She was burning up. He wondered briefly if she was coming down with a fever, or was hot because she was so distressed.

Bella winced as she tried to find a suitable explanation. She couldn't exactly tell Charlie about Edward's vampire status. In the end she mumbled something about him using the tree that grew outside her window. That's how Jacob climbed into her room one time. She saw Charlie frown-probably already planning on chopping the tree back in his mind-before his expression turned thoughtful.

"Dad?" She questioned warily.

"You never really got any closure, Bells. That selfish ass didn't even have the guts to give you that. You've been sad now it's time to get angry."

"Huh?"

"Maybe finding this photo was a good thing." Charlie stood and hauled Bella up with him. "I've got an idea how we can make use of it."

"I don't understand." Bella faltered.

Charlie had a wicked gleam in his eyes as he smirked in her direction. "Follow me, kiddo."

* * *

Bella watched as Charlie tacked Edward's half of the photo onto an old dartboard he had dug out of the garage. He adjusted the dartboard until it was level on the wall and stepped back, smiling. "That's just right."

"Dad, what's going on?" Bella asked warily.

"I thought that was obvious." Charlie chuckled darkly as he handed Bella one of the darts. "You can't let rip on the guy in person, so his smug photograph will have to do instead."

"You want me to throw darts at Edward's picture?" Bella said incredulously. "Isn't that a bit childish?"

"Maybe, but it's so much fun." Charlie grinned. "Come on, Bells. Give it a go. Yell something that you've always wanted to say to Cullen and then throw the dart."

"I can't." Bella held the dart limply in between her fingers

Charlie smiled encouragingly. "Sure you can. I'll show you." He levelled up a dart in front of him, narrowed his eyes and threw it. "That's for hurting my little girl." He growled. The dart embedded itself right between Edward's eyes.

"Oh my." Bella was in shock.

"It's your turn now." Charlie positioned her in front of the board. "Let rip and then throw the dart."

"This is silly." Bella protested weakly.

"Try it."

"Okay." Bella held the dart out in front of her and stared at Edward's beautiful face. Her throat tightened and she struggled to breathe. "You hurt me." She said faintly as she clumsily threw the dart in his direction. It missed the board completely and clattered onto the floor.

"You need more force, Bells." Charlie picked up the fallen dart and handed it back to her. "Try again."

"You left without giving me a proper explanation." Bella raised her voice a bit and threw the dart. This time it hit the photo and embedded itself into his left shoulder.

"That's better." Charlie praised her. "Try again."

"You left me alone in the woods to rot." Bella's lips thinned as she flung the dart forcefully in front of her. It hit Charlie's dart, knocking it on the floor.

"Good one." Charlie continued proudly. He handed her another dart. "Again."

"I thought you loved me but then you just changed your mind." Bella cried. She unleashed the dart and it hit the wall and bounced onto the floor. She ground her teeth in frustration. "Give me another." She ordered Charlie.

"That's my brave girl."

Bella concentrated hard as she stared at Edward's photograph. His face was slightly angled away from her, his smile secretive and cocksure as if he was having a private joke with himself. She wondered what he had been thinking in that moment. It was hard to tell. Then again she always had trouble reading him-unlike Jacob who was like an open book. An irrational anger surged through her and tears brimmed in her eyes. "_This is for breaking my heart and making it all about you."_ She screamed.

This time when she threw the dart it landed right over Edward's cold stone heart.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Nine**

Charlie and Bella sat on the back porch drinking iced tea together. It was a soothing end to an emotional morning. The sun broke through the clouds briefly, illuminating father and daughter in a ray of light. After weeks without the sun, seeing it shine brightly above her in the sky was like a balm to Bella's soul. She revelled in the gentle heat as it poured down on her and Charlie. It was like a new awakening for both of them, a fresh start. As she glanced to the side at her father she knew that her own face must look as relaxed and as at peace as his did. The fine lines around his brown eyes had eased, and he looked years younger, as if the constant burden of worry had been lifted from his mind.

"You know, Bells, we should do this more often." Charlie suggested as he stretched out his legs in front of him and took a sip of his tea.

"I know." Bella agreed. "We hardly ever come out here to appreciate the view."

"It's beautiful." Charlie looked at the immaculate lawn that he expended so much effort tending in his spare time. He did all that work and failed to appreciate the results. It was a glorious view-the carpet of green grass led up to the majestic forest encroaching at the bottom of the garden-and you could smell the freshness in the air. He breathed it in and took another gulp of his tea.

Bella smiled and reached out for his hand in a rare display of affection. Charlie returned her smile and squeezed her fingers in response. "I want to thank you." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me. And for loving me despite all the grief I've caused you." Bella felt tears brim in her eyes and she blinked them away furiously. She was sick and tired of crying. Her brief flare of anger had sealed shut the gaping hole in her chest. It still ached, but her bonding experience with Charlie had shown her the way to get past the pain instead of letting it beat her down. "I'm getting better, Dad. I promise."

"That's good to hear, kiddo." Charlie let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders instead. Bella rested her head on his shoulder and they both fell silent as they gazed up at the glorious sun.

* * *

The sun had gone in now. The constant cloud cover was back and a light rain was falling. Charlie and Bella retreated to the kitchen. She made them both a light lunch and they sat in comfortable silence as they ate at the table.

"I'll clear up." Charlie offered when they were finished. He was about to gather the plates together when Bella motioned for him to remain seated. "What's wrong?" He asked curiously. She didn't look upset or anything, in fact she looked determined.

"Dad, I need my phone back."

Somehow her request didn't surprise Charlie. In fact he had been expecting it. He gazed into her clear brown eyes for a moment before making the decision to trust her. "Okay. Can I ask what you need it for?"

Bella sighed as she looped a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm going to call Alice." She said honestly. "I just need to know for my own peace of mind that Edward is alright. I promise I'm not going to speak to him or anything. It will be the last time."

Charlie wasn't happy about her getting into contact with any of the Cullen family again, but he empathised with her need for further closure. He could see she had turned a corner and hoped that she had gained enough strength to resist any attempts on Alice or Edward's parts to draw her back in. "I'll get your cell." He said eventually.

"Thanks." Bella watched him leave the room and clasped her shaking hands together in her lap. She could only hope and pray that Alice had reached Edward in time to save him. The last thing she needed on her conscience was the knowledge that he had succeeded in his attempts to end his existence. If she wanted to move forward in her own life, it was essential that this last burden of guilt was removed from her mind for good.

* * *

"I'll be in the next room when you need me." Charlie promised Bella as he left her alone in the kitchen with her cell phone.

Bella hadn't missed his turn of phrase-he had said _when_ you need me-not _if. _Charlie was expecting the worst, and in the deepest recesses of her soul, so was she. With trembling fingers Bella switched on her cell and waited for it to boot up. As the operating system went through its cycle, she found herself holding her breath. Then astonishingly her cell began to ring of its own accord. She jumped, staring as Alice's name flashed up. Had the little psychic been waiting for this very moment, had she seen that this would happen in her visions? But that couldn't be possible, not with one of the wolves constantly on guard at the house.

"Alice." Bella said shakily as she finally answered the call.

What she wasn't prepared for was to hear Edward's exquisite voice respond instead of Alice's. His tone was full of wonder, slightly bemused. "It's really you." He breathed. "Bella?"

"Edward." Bella gasped his name. Her heart was racing in her chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through her veins. She felt like she was burning from the inside out.

"You cannot comprehend how good it is to hear your voice." His voice was like honey and velvet. _"Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.""_ He murmured. "I wish I could see your lovely face. For now your sweet voice must suffice."

Was he really quoting Shakespeare at her? She recognised the line spoken by Romeo in the tomb. A crappy quote was all she got after spending days fretting over him, after nearly driving herself crazy thinking he was going to succeed in his mission to destroy himself. He had put her through hell-_again_\- and there was no apology, nothing. Just useless romantic drivel that meant shit. It was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her, breaking her out from under the spell of his honeyed voice.

"Alice got to you in time." Bella's tone was flat and icy.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked in a low voice. He sounded perturbed as if confused by her reaction.

It was only then that Bella realised she was shaking, shaking hard, her entire frame was vibrating until her teeth chattered and the room around her seemed to wobble and blur in her eyes. For one wild second, she wondered again if this was how Jacob felt just before exploding into a wolf. She wished he was there right now so he could guide her through it. Maybe her anger at Edward was so great she was turning into a wolf too.

"You selfish, selfish asshole." She cried as a sob tore from her chest.

"Bella, please...I didn't..." Edward faltered.

"Shut up. Just shut up with the crappy excuses. There are none." Bella interrupted him hoarsely.

"No, you have to listen to me." Edward cut in impatiently. "I love you. I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I was thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind, every second that I was away. When I told you that I didn't want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy."

Bella shook her head while the angry tears continued to ooze from the corners of her eyes. "That's not how you treat the one you are supposed to love, Edward." She explained, her voice breaking. "You nearly broke me but I won't let you do it again."

"I know I've hurt you so much." Edward whispered in despair. "I'm coming back, Bella. All of us are. When I heard what you had told Alice-what she had learned herself-when I realised you had to put your life in the hands of werewolves, immature, volatile, the worst thing out there besides Victoria herself." His gush of words halted for a second. When he continued his voice was full of pain. "Please know that I had no idea of any of this. I feel sick, sick to my core, even now. I am the most miserable excuse for-"

"Stop." Bella interrupted him. She was boiling with rage at the way he had just insulted Jacob and his pack. "Don't you ever insult the wolf pack again. Without them to save me-without Jacob-I would already be dead. The only dangerously immature thing is you."

With that parting comment Bella flung her cell phone across the room as if it burned her fingers. It clattered onto the floor, leaving a large crack on the screen.

* * *

Charlie rushed into the kitchen as soon as he heard the phone shatter on the floor. He found Bella sitting at the table rigidly, her face red and shining with tears. "I shouldn't have you let you call them." He lamented as he sank down on his knees beside her. "I'm sorry."

Bella inhaled sharply and turned to face him. "I need you to drive me to over to La Push. I have to see Jacob right now."

Charlie was alarmed at how feverish Bella's eyes looked. He reached out and checked her forehead with the back of his hand. "Jeez, kiddo, you're burning up."

"I'm fine." Bella said fervently as she brushed his hand aside impatiently. "If you won't take me to La Push I'll drive myself."

"Not in that state you won't." Charlie scolded her irritably. He used the table as leverage to help himself stand again. "What is this about, Bells? Why the sudden desperation to see Jacob?" He asked suspiciously. "If Cullen has upset you then talk to me about it. Don't go burdening the kid with your heartache again. I thought you were past that."

"That's not what this is about." Bella refuted hotly. "I have something important I need to tell him." She breathed deeply to calm herself down before continuing in a softer tone. "Please, I'm asking you to trust me."

Charlie heaved a heavy sigh. "Alright." He agreed grudgingly. "Let's go."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Ten**

Bella knew something was wrong when she spotted the wolf pack milling around outside the small redwood house. There was no sign of Jacob or Sam, but the others-Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Leah and Seth Clearwater-were all hanging around together in a group. Seth looked like he was being comforted by his older sister. With Harry's death still raw in everyone's minds, Bella had to wonder whether it was because he was upset over that, or for more sinister reasons.

"What are Sue's kids doing here?" Charlie asked in confusion as he climbed out of the cruiser.

For once Bella envied her father being in the dark. Right in that moment she wished she was too. Suddenly she didn't want to go inside the house. She instinctively knew that something must have happened to Jacob, otherwise he would be with the rest of the pack. Her skin burned as she clumsily exited the car and followed her father toward the restless wolves.

"Hey, kids." Charlie greeted the Clearwater siblings when he reached them. He looked with sympathy at Seth's downcast face and sighed heavily. Leah stood with a protective arm around her younger brother. "Is everything alright?" He asked her cautiously.

"Jake got hurt." Seth spilled in agony before Leah could stop him.

"Seth." Jared said warningly.

Bella got chills down her spine when she heard this. She looked in alarm at the gathered group. Not one of them would meet her eyes, not even Quil or Embry. With a quiet sob she pushed through them and ran into the house, leaving Charlie staring after her.

* * *

Bella felt totally disconnected from her body. Like she was caged in some small corner of her head, no longer at the controls. But she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't think straight. Her agony and despair was too strong for that. There was no escaping the pain.

"Jacob." She screamed. "No, no, no, no..." Every second passing was like an hour as she kept up a running commentary of his name in her head.

She wasn't even aware of Billy as she rushed past him and Sam, completely ignoring them when they called her name. The blood rushed to her ears. She felt faint and as if she was running in quicksand. All the while the fever burned inside her, thrumming underneath her torment as if in perpetual motion. Then she was outside his door. She hesitated, breathing heavily, tears stinging at her eyes. She was afraid-so afraid of what she would see.

Taking another huge breath she opened the door a crack and peered inside. She saw Jacob lying on his bed, he was awake, his expression guarded. There was no animation in his dark eyes. His body was covered in a heavy quilt, which was strange as she knew covers irritated him because of his incredible heat.

Bella finally stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind her. "Jake." She whispered and then burst into tears.

* * *

Jacob didn't respond at first. He looked at her face for a long moment. Then, with some effort, he rearranged his expression into a mocking smile. "Today has been crap I can tell you. I nearly got her, Bells. And I would have too if Leah hadn't been such an idiot trying to prove she's as tough as the rest of us. I have to be the idiot who saves her. And because I was distracted the damn redhead got one over on me instead."

Bella was fighting for words. She couldn't seem to summon them. The tears continued to trickle out of the corners of her eyes as she stared at him like a fool. "How are you feeling?" She mumbled lamely, and mentally kicked herself. _What a stupid question._

"Like I've been drop kicked by a vampire." Jacob groaned.

"You must be in so much pain." Bella bit her lip, making it bleed. _Another stupid question. She was dumb, dumb, dumb! _

"Just a bit." Jacob smiled mockingly again before the wry humour left his face. His dark eyes slowly warmed up. His forehead creased, like he was worried. "Are you still mad at me? Is that why you are standing way over there?"

"Me?" Bella squeaked in alarm. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, I mean, I was pretty sure that you would still be upset. I mean you did hug me...well my wolf anyway. So I thought maybe you had forgiven me just a bit. I've been going crazy with worrying about you ever since I woke up. I didn't know whether you would even want to visit me. The suspense was terrible. But then you got here real quick, actually..."

It took Bella a minute to even understand. He babbled on, looking more and more awkward, until she finally got what he was saying. Then she hurried to reassure him.

"No, no, Jake! I'm fine. Too fine, really." Perspiration broke out on her forehead and she swept the back of her hand across it. "Why is it so hot?" She blew out her cheeks and shrugged off her heavy jacket.

"Are you okay?" Jacob shifted his weight, throwing one leg off the bed as if he was going to try and stand.

"What are you doing?" Bella demanded through the tears. "Lie down, you idiot, you'll hurt yourself!" She hastily crossed the room and pushed against his shoulder.

Jacob surrendered, leaning back with a gasp of pain, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down on the bed with him, cuddling her against his side. Bella curled up against his hot skin, feeling even hotter as her own temperature spiked.

"Bells, you're burning up." Now she was lying beside him Jacob could feel how boiling she was. "You're running a fever. When did this start?"

"I'm not sure." Bella said vaguely. She took a deep, ragged breath, trying to control herself. "An hour or so ago, I think. It was when I was talking to Edward." She mumbled.

"Dammit, Bella!" Jacob growled as he recoiled away from her.

"Jake?" Bella was confused by his reaction. She rubbed her aching temples and tried to concentrate. "That's why I came over. I wanted you to know that they are coming back. Alice reached Edward in time..."

"Why would you do this to me?" Jacob closed his eyes and ground his teeth together. "Do you enjoy hurting me? Is that it? Do you get some twisted satisfaction out of it." He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "I can't believe this! Here I was thinking you'd come straight over to see me because you were worried about me once you found out I was injured. But, again, it's all about _him_. I was so stupid thinking anything had changed."

His accusations sent Bella reeling. "What are you talking about?" She snapped angrily. "I didn't know you'd been hurt. Nobody told me anything. I asked Dad to drive me here so I could warn you that the Cullens are coming back. I made it clear to Edward that I was pissed at him, but I got so angry I couldn't even see straight when I spoke to him on the phone. I thought I was gonna phase into a wolf like you. And I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't right now. How dare you..."

Jacob cut her off with a kiss. His hand moved to the nape of her neck as he twisted his fingers into the back of her hair. His lips, disconcertingly soft and warm, gently tried to coax a reaction out of her. Bella had been so shocked at the sudden contact of his mouth on hers that she remained passive for a moment. Jacob made an irritated sound in the back of his throat as he pulled away and stared at Bella mutely.

"So, it's still _him_." He said bitterly.

Anger rocked through Bella like the whiplash after a heavy punch. She scowled at him. She reached out and grabbed fistfuls of his hair and yanked his face back to hers. "You are frustrating beyond belief."

"Me?" Jacob exclaimed.

The jolt of anger unbalanced Bella's tenuous hold on self-control. With a wild gasp she kissed him back. Her lips moved with his in strange, confusing ways they'd never moved before. She didn't have to be careful with Jacob, and he certainly wasn't being careful with her. Bella's fingers tightened in his hair as she pulled him closer. He was everywhere. The electricity between them was all consuming. She couldn't see or hear or feel anything that wasn't Jacob. His heat eclipsed hers and bound them together.

"What the hell?" Charlie exploded as he opened Jacob's bedroom door to find his daughter fused at the lips with his best friend's son. "Bella, what are you doing?"

"Dad?" Bella squealed as she rolled away from Jacob in shock and tumbled onto the floor. Jacob was too slow to save her.

"Unbelievable!" Charlie frowned angrily as he bent down and grabbed hold of Bella's arm so he could help her up. He glared in Jacob's direction when he saw the boy fighting a smile. "You can stop grinning for a start. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Huh?" Jacob blinked in confusion.

"And why you're rewarding him with a kiss I don't know. I can't understand your behaviour, Bells." Charlie continued to fuss as he focused his laser like stare on his daughter instead. "Did he tell you how he got injured?"

"Um...no." Bella looked sideways at Jacob.

"He's only gone and gotten himself a damn motorbike." Charlie scowled in Jacob's direction. "It's lucky your friends are as big as you. No one else would have been able to carry you home, you fool." He scolded Jacob. "You could have been crushed when you wrecked that damn bike. It's lucky you only fractured a few ribs and not your head."

Bella didn't know what to say. Billy must have concocted the cover story about the bike accident to explain Jacob's injuries to Charlie. He could hardly tell him that his son had been attacked by a vengeful flame haired vampire.

"Have you ever been on this bike, Bella?" Charlie demanded suddenly as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Me?" Bella choked. "No..." Her complexion deepened to a dull red, giving her away completely.

"You have. I can tell when you're lying." Charlie raged as he put his hands on his hips. "I thought you were more mature than him."

"Jacob's plenty mature." Bella muttered defensively. Behind Charlie's back Jacob flashed her a warm smile and she found her lips curving upwards in response.

"What are you smiling about?" Charlie barked.

"I don't really know." Bella's emotions were veering all over the place. Tears began to slide out of her eyes as she put her fingers over her lips, which were still tingling from Jacob's incredible kiss.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Eleven**

"I've always told you motorcycles were dangerous. I hope you realise that I wasn't kidding around." Charlie scolded Jacob. "They are death machines."

Jacob nodded as if he was paying attention to Charlie's lecture, when really all he was focused on was Bella. She was standing half hidden behind her father, her expression thoughtful. He could still feel the lingering after effects of their passionate kiss and he wondered if she could, too. He wished the police chief would leave them alone so they could talk.

"I'm disappointed in you, kid." Charlie continued sadly. "I trusted you with Bella's safety and you let her on that bike when you've always known how I felt about them."

His words were like a punch to the gut as Jacob zoned in again to what Charlie was saying. He saw Bella cringe. She was the one who had brought the motorbikes to him in the first place. He saw her open her mouth as if she was going to confess and he shook his head at her warningly. Now was not the time to tell her father about her part in it, otherwise he might consider grounding Bella for the rest of her life, and then he would never get to spend time with her without Charlie hovering over his shoulder. And he really wanted to kiss her again.

Bella took the hint and sighed quietly. "You can't be mad at Jake, Dad."

"I'm mad at both of you." Charlie said grimly.

Now that comment hurt. It pained her more than Bella expected. The last few days had been a bonding experience for both of them. She felt closer to Charlie than she had her whole life. And already she had disappointed him again. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Charlie caught Bella's discouraged expression and he pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm only saying this because I care about both of you." He said gruffly. He glared in Jacob's direction. "I'd hug you too but I might just end up breaking another one of your ribs."

Jacob stifled a laugh as he lay back on his heaped up pillows and relaxed. He knew Charlie wouldn't hold a grudge for long.

* * *

Charlie led Bella out of Jacob's bedroom, insisting that the boy needed to rest. She cast a hopeless glance in Jacob's direction. There was little she could do. They had to keep up the pretence for Charlie's sake. She followed her father down the hall as she tried to process what had happened. She had come to La Push with the intention to warn Jacob that the Cullens were on their way back to Forks, but had been blindsided by that incredible kiss. It was as unexpected as it was welcome. She had enjoyed it. There was no denying that. It was so different to the way Edward kissed her. You couldn't even compare the two. Jacob came out the winner. Edward had never been able to let go like that. His chaste kisses didn't send her pulse racing, they made her faint instead. This thought made her snicker.

"And what's so funny?" Charlie asked as they reached the front room.

Bella's laugh turned into a cough.

"Are you feeling alright, Bells?" Charlie said in concern. He touched her forehead with gentle fingers. Her skin was hot and clammy. "You're running a fever."

"I'm not." Bella insisted as she brushed aside his concerns. "I feel perfectly fine."

Charlie wasn't convinced. "I think we should get Dr. Gerandy to look at you."

Bella grimaced at the thought of seeing another medical professional. She had spent too many hours of her life in hospitals because of her unique ability to injure herself. She had developed an aversion to all things connected to it. "I don't need to see a doctor. I am okay."

Billy appeared out of the kitchen bringing Sam Uley with him. "Everything okay here?" He asked cautiously. "I hope you didn't give my boy too much of a lecture, Chief."

"Don't worry I went easy on him." Charlie replied sarcastically. He glanced at Bella before continuing. "He seems on the road to recovery. There was nothing wrong with his lips anyway."

"What?" Billy frowned in confusion.

"I walked in on them kissing." Charlie said disapprovingly.

Bella's face burned. She couldn't believe her father had outed her like that-and in front of Sam Uley too-she was mortified. "It wasn't like that." She muttered defensively.

Billy put his hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Even Sam was fighting a rare smile. Bella mustered up as much dignity as she could and sailed past them. She felt so hot and wanted to escape into the fresh air. The front room felt too crowded with all of them in it together. She brushed by Sam and didn't notice the strange look on his face as he became aware of the heat radiating off her skin.

* * *

"Bella, hold up." Sam called after her.

Bella groaned internally. The last thing she needed was an inquisition from the Alpha wolf. The last time she had seen him was when Jacob was pumping the water out of her chest after she had jumped off that damn cliff. At first she pretended not to hear him, silently hoping that he would take the hint and leave her alone, but no such luck.

"Hey, Bella." Sam caught up with her hurried strides all too easily and she was forced to turn and face him. "You look peaky." He said bluntly as he peered at her face.

"Like I've already told my Dad, I am perfectly fine." Bella scowled.

"You don't need to jump down my throat, Bella." Sam said sternly. "Your eyes look feverish. And you're shaking with anger."

Bella hadn't even been aware that her whole body was vibrating. She swallowed down her irritation with Sam and tried to compose herself. "I'm just tired of all the questions." She saw the disbelief on his face and glowered. "I'm not mad, just annoyed that no one told me about Jacob getting hurt."

"There wasn't time." Sam said warily. "What prompted you to come here at this exact time? We brought Jacob home and twenty minutes later you arrive."

"It's a coincidence." Bella refuted as she tried not to roll her eyes at Sam's stupid question. "I had to tell Jacob something."

"About the Cullens coming back. I know." Sam revealed.

"You were listening in to our conversation?" Bella asked incredulously.

"I've got good hearing, Bella." Sam reminded her pointedly.

"Right, of course." Bella huffed. She had forgotten about the wolves superior senses. It was very disconcerting. She felt her cheeks flush and let her hair fall forward to shield her face from him. "Is that all?"

"How long have you been feeling hot, Bella?" Sam's tone softened.

"I don't know." She mumbled, shrugging. "A couple of hours, maybe more. What's the big deal?"

"That would be around the same time that Jake got hurt."

"Like I said, coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences." Sam put his big hand on her shoulder and she finally raised her head to look up at him. His usually stern face was grave. "Have there been other occasions when similar things have happened?"

"Jeez, I don't run a fever every time Jake stubs his toe if that's what you are insinuating." Bella did roll her eyes this time.

"I could do without the sarcasm." Sam said sombrely. "You know exactly what I'm asking."

Bella did know. She bit back a retort and regarded Sam carefully. "Jake's always been an open book to me." She admitted.

Sam nodded, unruffled. "Go on."

Bella stared at him for a long minute, before continuing. "I know you guys can get in his head, but you don't always get to see what I see. Or feel what I feel."

"Such as?" Sam pressed eagerly.

"I'm not telling you that. It's private." Bella snapped. She felt like there was something big sticking in her throat. She tried to clear the obstruction. "I can't-I mean I don't...I have to go."

She turned, but Sam grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.

"Just wait. I'm not asking you to spill his darkest secrets, Bella. But, look, answer me this, alright? Does it happen often? Be honest, please."

It was hard to concentrate on his question, so it took her a minute to answer. "I don't know what you want me to say. I miss Jake when he's not there. I can feel him missing me, too. It's like a dull ache, you know." She qualified carefully. "When he's happy, it makes me happy-"

"And?" Sam coaxed gently. "You could be talking about anyone you care about."

"It's more than that." Bella glared at him in frustration before her eyes glazed over as her mind drifted back to the past. "Sometimes it's like we're connected. Like when you ordered him to stay away from me when he first phased-it's like I could feel the echo of his pain twisted inside me. His pain, my pain."

"Bella?"

Sam's concerned voice sounded far away. Bella brushed a hand across her hot forehead as she tried to focus on him. "I think I need to sit down." She mumbled, confused.

"Come inside." Sam urged her. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. I'm sorry about that." He put his hands on her slim shoulders and gently guided her back toward the house.

* * *

Bella was deeply troubled after her strange conversation with Sam. She sat by herself in the corner of the room, staring unseeingly at the Black's small television. The easy conversation enjoyed by Billy and Charlie flowed around her like a distant wave. Sam had left abruptly after bringing her back to the house, and had taken the rest of the pack with him. Now they knew that Jacob was on the road to recovery it was back to business. There was still a vengeful red head on their turf so they needed to resume their normal patrols.

"We better be going now." Charlie said to Billy. "Tell Jake we'll drop by tomorrow and check in on him."

"He'd like that. Thanks, Chief." Billy replied cheerfully.

Hearing them mention Jacob's name broke Bella out of her stupor. "Can I say goodbye to him?" She asked.

"He was asleep the last time I checked on him." Billy said congenially. "Better leave him to rest. It'll make his body heal faster."

Bella didn't miss the heavy hint. "I won't disturb him I promise. I just want to look in on him."

Billy held her gaze for a moment. "Okay." He finally agreed.

"I'll go start the car. See you outside, Bells." Charlie told her.

Bella smiled diffidently at the two men before fleeing down the hall toward Jacob's room. She pushed open the door to his room quietly. He was fast asleep, stretched diagonally across the double bed that took up all of his room but a few inches around the edges. Even on a slant, it wasn't long enough; his feet hung off one end. He looked so endearing, snoring lightly with his mouth partially open. The sound of the door hadn't even made him twitch. His face was peaceful. But it did little to hide the dark circles under his eyes. Despite his ridiculous size, he looked so young now, and so vulnerable.

Bella stepped back out and shut the door quietly behind her. "Goodnight, Jake." She said in her head.

She was two steps away from his door when she heard his response loud and clear in her mind as if he was standing right next to her. "Night, honey."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Twelve**

"I'm going mad. That's the only explanation." Bella fretted as she lay in her darkened bedroom. "First I hallucinated Edward's voice and now I'm doing the same with Jacob. I am officially insane."

A gentle tap on her door disturbed her peace. Charlie opened it a crack and peered in. "Are you alright, Bells. I've made you some hot chocolate."

Bella sat up and switched on her bedside lamp. The sudden light hurt her eyes. "Come in."

Charlie opened the door wider and sidled into the room carrying a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "Drinking this always settled you as a kid." He said, smiling wistfully. "You were always so nervous on your first night here when you came to stay during vacation. I would make us both a hot chocolate and then read you a story to send you to sleep."

It saddened Bella that she didn't share his memories. It just showed how thoughtful he'd been even back then, but she had been too absorbed in her own misery to appreciate it. "Thanks." She said gratefully as he she took the mug from him.

"Are you still feeling hot?" Charlie asked in concern as he perched on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Not really." Bella lied as she averted her gaze from him and blew on the hot chocolate to cool it down. The truth was she was sweltering. Normally at this time of year she would be wrapped up in several layers, but now she was fine in just a thin tank top paired with some boy shorts.

Charlie didn't believe her attempts to persuade him otherwise. Her skin was shiny with perspiration and her eyes had a feverish tinge to them. But other than that she seemed okay. It was extremely odd. "I still think we should get the doc to give you the once over."

"Please don't." Bella moaned. "I don't need the fuss. I am perfectly fine."

"Alright." Charlie said reluctantly. "We'll see how you are in the morning."

"Thanks." Bella sagged in relief as she took a small sip of her drink. She was more worried about her mental health than her physical one. Hearing voices in her head definitely trumped having a bit of a temperature.

* * *

Jacob accidentally rolled in his sleep and tumbled out of his too small bed. He groaned in pain as his body hit the floor with a dull thud. His healing ribs cracked again under the pressure and he exhaled painfully as he tried to climb to his feet.

"Freaking idiot." He cussed under his breath.

"Jake...Jake...are you okay?" Billy's worried voice came from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine." Jacob grumbled as he pulled his injured body back onto the bed.

"What happened?" Billy pushed on the door and he rolled his chair in a few inches. "It sounded like you'd fallen out of bed."

"I did." Jacob flopped onto his heaped up pillows and bit down on his tongue to stifle another groan. He didn't want Billy fussing over him. His father was worried enough at it was. "But I'm alright." He tacked on at the end.

Billy wasn't convinced but there was little he could to help anyway. Jacob's room was so small, and the double bed took up so much space, that there wasn't even room for him to wheel his chair in properly. "I can get Sue if you need me to."

"Please, don't." Jacob cast a defeated glance in his father's direction. What he really wanted was some of Bella's tender loving care, but he knew that this was denied him. He couldn't stop thinking about their epic kiss. In fact he had just been having a very pleasant dream about it before he stupidly tumbled out of bed. "You don't need to worry about me, Dad. I'll be all healed soon."

"Jake, it was a close call..." Billy began.

"I'll be more careful. I promise not to play the hero again and I'm sure that Leah has learned her lesson too. She won't play the fool again." Jacob interjected before Billy could wax maudlin.

"Okay." Billy caved in. "Can I make get you anything to eat or drink instead?"

_"Get me Bella."_ Jacob thought in his head. But aloud he said, "I'm good, Dad. I just need some sleep."

"Alright, son." Billy replied, finally getting the hint. "Night."

"Night." Jacob gave his father a weak grin as Billy backed out of the doorway and closed the bedroom door.

* * *

Charlie finally left Bella alone to sleep after tucking her firmly into bed like a five year old. As soon as the door closed she kicked off her duvet and sighed in blessed relief as the cool air hit her skin. It was actually quite pleasant not feeling the chill all the time. Her eyes began to close immediately. It had been an emotionally draining day. Her mind began to wander as she succumbed to her exhaustion...

To her surprise she suddenly awakened to find herself outside Jacob's tiny closet of a room again. This time she didn't bother to knock but threw the door open; it slammed against the wall with a bang. Jacob-still wearing the same cut-off sweats he'd worn the last time she had seen him-was stretched out diagonally across the double bed like before. His feet were still hanging off one end. He was still fast asleep, snoring lightly with his mouth hanging open. The sound of the slamming door hadn't made him twitch. How was this possible?

"Am I dreaming?" Bella said aloud.

"Am I?" Jacob's husky voice sounded loud in her head.

"Oh, not again!" Bella put her hand over her mouth as she stared at his sleeping form. "Maybe I should see Dr. Gerandy after all."

Jacob's eyes opened to slits and a smirk played about his perfect lips. "What are you doing way over there?" His smirk turned into a sexy grin.

Bella's skin flushed in response. "It's hot in here."

"It will be even hotter with you in the same bed." Jacob teased. "C'mere, honey." He shifted over on the double bed to make room for her to lie next to him.

"I thought you were injured." Bella stepped forward and inspected him gingerly. His beautiful tan skin seemed to glow in the half dark. His teeth gleamed white as he laughed at her confused expression. God, he was so beautiful and his arms so inviting. "Jake, this isn't funny."

"Stop stressing, Bells. I'm all healed up. Let me show you." One muscular arm shot out and wrapped around her waist. She was suddenly flush beside him, their faces mere inches apart. She could feel his hot breath on her face. "I'm going to kiss you right now." He whispered as his dark eyes flicked to her lips.

Bella was on fire. Her breathing became shallow as her eyes drifted closed in anticipation of his mouth on hers. Would this kiss be as incredible as the first? She waited, and waited, and waited...

The sound of the alarm on her clock radio startled Bella and her eyes flared open. Bitter disappointment flooded through her as she realised she was back in her own room, alone, her body tangled in her sweat soaked sheets.

* * *

In La Push, Jacob cracked his heavy eyes open, and groaned in disbelief. He was still in his bedroom, but was alone. Bella was gone-vanished in a puff of smoke-just like his dream. "Dammit, honey." He mumbled disconsolately. "Why aren't you really here?"

_"Jake!" _

"Bells?" Jacob rubbed his eyes with his fists as he tried to shake the last remnants of his dream. It was almost laughable that he could actually conjure up her voice in his head as if she was in the same room.

_"Can you hear me?" _

"Loud and clear." Jacob joked aloud. Jeez, he was losing it big time. He was clearly delusional. Maybe it was the strong meds he was taking for the pain.

_"So, you can hear me?" _

"Of course. I mean this is totally normal, right?" Jacob responded in his head.

_"Is it? I mean is it a wolf thing?" _

Jacob chuckled darkly, but immediately regretted it as his ribs began to ache in protest. "Ah, shit." He groaned.

_"Oh, no, I've hurt you."_

"I hurt me." Jacob wheezed. "I'm alright." He leaned back on his pillows and sighed in relief when the pain eased.

_"Thank god!"_

"Oh, Bells, I wish you were really here and not some figment of my imagination." Jacob sighed in resignation.

_"Figment of your imagination? You mean I really am crazy? So this isn't a wolf thing? Maybe you're a figment of mine. I knew it. I just freaking knew it. Charlie is gonna have me committed." _

Jacob sat up straighter and tried to concentrate. His head was feeling fuzzy. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. Bella sounded so panicked, like she was a having a mental breakdown.

_"I mean this is different from when I heard Edward's voice. He never answered me. But we're having an actual conversation. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my..."_

"Honey, calm down." Jacob tried to absorb what she was saying. This felt so real, just like his dream. He pinched his arm to check he was awake. The sting told him he definitely was. His dark eyes widened in shock.

The door to his room was thrust open severing his connection to Bella. He watched in alarm as Sam stepped inside, with Billy hovering behind him. He desperately called Bella's name in his head as he ignored his visitors. But there was no response. Her voice was gone.

Sam noted Jacob's wild eyes and the despairing look on his face. "Are you feeling better, Jake?" He asked cautiously. "I came to check up on you when Billy and I heard you talking." His eyes checked for a cell phone but couldn't see one nearby. He frowned heavily.

"What was in those pills Sue gave me?" Jacob demanded as he began to believe his craving for Bella was making him hallucinate.

"They're just normal painkillers." Billy said worriedly. "Why?"

"Nothing." Jacob muttered.

Sam glanced at a worried Billy. "He looks like he could do with some breakfast." He said pointedly to the older man.

"Fine." Billy took the hint and rolled his chair backwards into the narrow hall. "I'll leave you two alone to talk."

Sam closed the door after Billy before turning to face Jacob again. He ran his fingers through his shorn hair as he felt the heavy burden of responsibility weigh heavy on his shoulders. "I want to talk to you about imprinting." He said with stoic resignation.

Jacob tensed. "I'm not interested. It's not gonna happen to me." He said stubbornly.

"It's too late for that." Sam said grimly. "I think it already has."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Thirteen**

Bella drove to La Push. She had sneaked out in the early hours of the morning in order not to wake Charlie. She needed some place quiet to think, somewhere away from all the distractions. She ended up heading for First beach and parked in the empty dirt lot. It was still dark-the gloomy predawn of a cloudy day-and when she cut the headlights it was hard to see. She sat in the truck waiting for her eyes to adjust before she could find the path that led through the tall hedge of weeds that led down to the beach. Even though it was a lot colder, with the wind whipping off the black water, she didn't really feel it. Her mind was preoccupied with all that had been happening.

"Am I crazy?" She said to the empty air as she paced down the beach toward the north seawall. She continued to wander down the water's edge, before picking her way carefully across the rocks, watching out for anything that might trip her.

Finally out of the gloom she saw what she was looking for; a long bone-white driftwood tree stranded deep on the rocks. The roots twisted up at the seaward end like a thousand brittle tentacles. It was the same tree where she and Jacob had their first conversation. She sat down and stared out across the invisible sea.

"What is happening to me?" Bella whispered sadly. She thought about Jacob, and pictured how peacefully he had been sleeping when she had looked in on him, before going home with Charlie. She mulled over the dream she'd had which seemed to have spilled into reality with his voice in her head. Thinking about Jacob set off an overpowering urge to protect him. It was completely illogical. She was the one who needed protecting, not him.

A shaft of sunlight pierced the gloom, and it reflected on the water, creating an eerie halo effect. Bella focused on it, frowning. She caught a flash of red and stood up, staring hard at the glittering swirls on the surface of the ocean, trying to fathom what this strange seaweed like creature could be swimming toward her so fast. Her heart began to race and perspiration broke out on her skin, turning it clammy and hot. Something dreadful was coming her way, she was stupid to have risked exposing herself like this. Bella's fever spiked as she turned on her heel and ran for her life across the wet sand.

* * *

"I haven't imprinted." Jacob scoffed. "Where did you get that idea?"

Sam stared at him penetratingly for a minute before responding. "I first suspected that something was going on with you when you managed to get around my Alpha command to stay away from Bella."

"I warned you at the time I would find a way to see her." Jacob retorted bitterly as the dark memories of his first phase began to resurface.

"It was important that you kept your distance. You have seen the evidence with your own eyes as to what could happen if you lose control for even one second." Sam pointed out gravely. Pain reflected in his dark eyes as he thought about Emily and the scars she bore that were a permanent reminder of his own lapse in control.

"No one blames you, Sam. Emily loves you. She forgave you." Jacob felt guilty about his accusatory tone. Sam was like the rest of them, trying to navigate his way through a life that was thrust upon him without warning. No old legends would ever be enough to guide those forced to live with the consequences of an inherited wolf gene.

Sam sucked in a deep breath as he pushed away his dark thoughts. He had learned to bury them deep down inside, otherwise they would threaten to consume him. He couldn't change the past, no matter how much he wanted to. "Will you just hear me out?" He asked.

"Okay." Jacob nodded reluctantly. He didn't want to butt heads with Sam. He had a huge respect for the guy. He had taken on the responsibility of leadership over a pack of rowdy wolves with no training and just his instincts to steer him in the right direction.

"We all know how you feel about Bella, Jake. You are like an open book when it comes to her. You think about her constantly..." Sam began.

"Alright, Sam, I get enough ribbing from the guys about it. Why should I hide how I feel?" He challenged.

"I used to think that she was like an obsession with you. I didn't take the time to scratch beneath the surface, to really see what was going on underneath." Sam was hesitant for a moment as he struggled to find the right words. "Maybe I was afraid to go there because of my own situation." He winced as his mind drifted to Leah.

"Are you saying that I'm imprinted with Bella?" Jacob couldn't hide his astonishment, and hope rose in his heart. Suddenly imprinting wasn't the devil trying to bite him on the ass. It was now something much sweeter, a bond between him and Bella. She was his soul mate. He had known it all along. These thoughts were fleeting as Sam claimed his attention again.

"You've loved Bella for a long time, Jake." Sam continued wearily. "Before any of this happened you had developed deep feelings for her. My theory is that the reason the imprint never happened straight away is because she became enamoured by the vampire. The bond is supposed to happen the first time you see her. But that never happened with you. You'd seen her numerous times and I never felt anything had changed-until recently."

"I think I know what you mean." Jacob said cautiously. He thought back to the night Bella had hugged his wolf. Something indefinable had shifted between them, something he couldn't put into words. He remembered his spirit soaring to meet hers, the way she had clung to him, the feelings of joy their reunion had invoked inside them after being out of contact for so long. He had to let her go in order for her to come back to him.

"I became convinced after I spoke to her." Sam saw Jacob tense and rushed to reassure him. "Don't get all bent out of shape. I only asked her a few questions and her answers only made me more certain that the imprint bond is there-but not in the way it is for me and Emily. Yours is different...more intense, somehow." He shook his head. "I can't even pretend to understand it. But her fever, Jacob, it's not natural. Did you know it kicked off the second you got hurt? That can't be a coincidence."

"She said that?" Jacob's eyes strayed to Sam again.

"Not in so many words. But she got here awfully fast after you were injured. That can't be coincidence, either." Sam speculated.

"I think..." Jacob didn't finish his thought.

To Sam's surprise, Jacob's dark eyes widened in horror. It was like he was looking beyond Sam-beyond the four walls of his small closet like bedroom-and seeing something else entirely. An agonised howl erupted from his throat and suddenly he bolted past the his shocked Alpha, completely ignoring the pain from his cracked ribs as he tore out of the house and phased.

* * *

Victoria's orange hair was brighter than Bella remembered. It shimmered like a flame, giving the red tendrils a life all of their own. Her eyes were black with thirst. She did not smile, her lips were pressed into a tight line. There was a striking feline quality to the way she held her coiled body, a lioness waiting for an opening to spring. Her restless wild gaze flickered from rock to rock, never resting on one thing even for a second. With her head cocked to one side she used her incredible sense of smell to fish out her prey.

Bella remained crouched behind her rock, frozen in place, wondering why Victoria was taking so long to exact her revenge. She was an easy target. It should have taken mere seconds for the red head to sniff her out. But for some odd reason Victoria seemed slow to act. Maybe this was just her way of prolonging the torture instead.

Bella gathered the courage to peer around the side of the rock to get a better view of her assailant. She saw Victoria still standing in the same position. Tension was rolling off her in waves. Bella could almost feel the red head's desire, the all consuming passion for revenge that held her in its grip. She fancied she could almost hear her thoughts, that she knew what Victoria was thinking. The red head was so close to what she wanted-the focus of her whole existence for months now was just so close.

"My death." Bella whispered in her head. "I've been so stupid. So utterly, utterly stupid."

Coming to the beach alone had made her a sitting target. How often had Jacob told her that Victoria used the sea to gain entry to La Push. The wolves must be close, but not close enough. Victoria would reach her before they did. That was a certainty. She would have to be quick-the redhead had no time for games here-but it would be thorough.

Bella's heart beat furiously as her skin burst into flames. Her long, silky brown hair clung in sweaty tendrils around her face. Her heart beat furiously, loudly, as if to make her a more obvious target. Bella couldn't understand why Victoria was hesitating. She was still glaring around, her nostrils flared, her body coiled to spring.

An immense distance away, a wolf's howl echoed in the still air. Bella's heart skipped a beat as hope welled in her chest.

_"Jacob!"_ She thought in her head. "_Please, hurry. Please!" _

Victoria jerked her chin upright, her head snaking around in the direction of the relentless howls. She snarled quietly, her black pupils dissolving into a sea of red. Suddenly her head whipped around again and her fierce gaze zeroed in on Bella's hiding place.

"I know you're here, coward." Her voice was soft, lethal through her bared, glistening teeth. "You smell disgusting, vile. It sickens me. Come out, dog, and face me."

Bella was confused by Victoria's incoherent babbling. It sounded like she was threatening one of the wolves. Was one of Jacob's brothers nearby? They couldn't be. Bella knew they would have leapt to her defence by now. She watched as Victoria's body trembled. She was so tightly wound. Her fingers were ready claws, just waiting for her chance to sink them into Bella's soft skin.

"Why isn't she attacking?" Bella cried in her head. It didn't make sense to Bella. She was here, only a few feet away from the crazed vampire, crouched behind the huge rock. It was ludicrous that Victoria hadn't detected her already. She must be able to smell her. The wind should be blowing her sweet scent right in the red head's face, but still Victoria was snarling threats about the vile dog stench.

There was another snarl. But this time not from Victoria. A mammoth russet shape flew through the air, sending Victoria running. He was followed by others. It was Jacob and his pack. Bella sagged in relief and closed her eyes as the huge red wolf chased the enraged red head back into the sea.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Fourteen**

Jacob's lungs were burning. He was finding it painful to breathe. When he had phased he had aggravated his injuries and fractured his ribs again. The cold water saturating his fur was making him sink like a stone. He was forced to watch Victoria swimming off into the distance like an Olympic pro.

_"We've got you, bro."_ Quil's voice said in his head as he bobbed in the water beside Jacob. Embry appeared on his other side . Between them they helped push an exhausted Jacob back to shore.

_"Where's Bella?"_ He gasped.

"_Leah and Seth have taken her back to yours."_ Embry assured him. "_You got here just in time, man."_

Jacob's eyes closed in relief. He collapsed onto the sand and rolled onto his side. Sam-now in his human form-hunkered down beside him. "You need to change back, Jake. If you don't your ribs won't heal properly."

Jacob groaned as he forced his body to cooperate. His insides twisted and he blacked out as his wolf form shimmered and he was human again. He remained unconscious as Sam directed the others to help him lift Jacob and carry him back home.

* * *

"He's awake. You can go in now, Bella." Billy's complexion was grey with worry as he left his son's room and ushered Bella inside in his stead. "He's been waiting for you."

Bella flinched, and then took a deep breath. "Thanks."

She hesitated at the door to Jacob's room, not sure whether to knock. She decided to peek in first, hoping-coward that she was-that maybe he'd gone back to sleep. She wasn't sure she could take his anger and disappointment in her right now. It was bad enough she was feeling it herself. Her stupidity in going to the beach alone had nearly ended in disaster. She opened the door a crack and leaned hesitantly in.

Jacob was waiting for her, his face calm and smooth. The haggard, gaunt look he had been wearing when the pack had first brought him home was gone, but only a careful blankness took its place. He must be angrier than she thought if he was trying to hide it behind a stoical mask. It was hard looking at his face, knowing what she had done. The guilt was eating away at her.

Eventually Bella stepped in and shut the door quietly behind her.

"Hi, Jake." She murmured.

Jacob didn't answer at first. He looked at her face for a long moment. Then, with some effort, he rearranged his expression into a slightly mocking smile. "This is like déjà vu, huh?"

"Oh, Jake. I'm so sorry." Bella cried in anguish. "This is all my fault. I did this. Can you ever forgive me?" She bit her lip. She was never going to be able to make up for her actions.

Jacob's forehead creased, like he was worried. "I should be the one asking for forgiveness, Bells."

"What?" Bella stared at him. Maybe he had overdone it on the painkillers. Why else was he taking the blame for something that was her fault. "There's no need to patronise me, Jake. I'm the one who screwed up."

"I'm the one who let the red witch escape." Jacob moaned. "If I had been quicker, if I..."

"YOU WERE INJURED!" Bella cut him off loudly.

Jacob's dark eyes widened in surprise. "You're not mad?"

It took Bella a minute to understand what he was saying. She hurried to reassure him. "No, no, Jake! How could you think I would be mad at you, silly boy."

"I let you down." He whispered, ashamed.

"You didn't." Bella exclaimed hurriedly. "You are so unselfish it makes me feel even worse. I wish you would yell at me or something. It's not like I don't deserve...well, much worse than getting yelled at."

This time she did not-could not-resist the urge to go to him. She crossed the small room and kneeled by his head, afraid to sit on the bed in case she jostled it and hurt him, and leaned in to touch her forehead to his cheek.

Jacob sighed, and put his hand on her hair, holding her there.

"I'm so sorry, Jake." She sobbed.

"It's not your fault, Bella."

"Don't make excuses for me." Bella groaned. "Please."

Jacob pulled away to look at her. "What?"

"It is my fault. And I'm so sick of being told it's not. Let me own my mistakes for once. I shouldn't have been on that damn beach by myself in the first place. It was a reckless and stupid thing to do." She berated herself.

A smile flashed across Jacob's face, before he frowned again. "What were you doing at the beach in the first place, Bells?"

Bella winced and hung her head. She was finding it difficult to look him in the eye. "You'll think I'm crazy." She said in defeat.

"Our whole life is crazy." Jacob joked. "One more crazy thing won't make much difference.

His lame attempt at humour made Bella laugh, which turned into a sob as the guilt set in again. Then it all came spilling out. The strange dream, hearing his voice in her head just like Edward's, their imagined conversation. Tears rolled down her face as she babbled incoherently. "I told you I was insane." She whimpered. "I just needed to go somewhere to clear my head. And the beach was the first place I thought of. I wasn't thinking. I'm so stupid."

"You're not." Jacob twitched impatiently on the bed.

"I am."

Jacob shifted his weight so he could grab Bella around the waist and pull her down onto the bed beside him. She curled up against his good side like she had before and tried to stifle her tears. But the more she tried the more they slid down her hot skin.

"Hush, it's okay." Jacob comforted her."You're not going crazy, Bells."

"But I am!"

Jacob swallowed thickly as he finally admitted the truth. "I heard you in my head too, Bells. It was real. All of it."

* * *

Billy's wheelchair was stationed at the head of the group. Beside him, looking quite brittle, was Quil's ancient white-haired grandfather, Old Quil. Sue Clearwater, Harry's widow, sat on his other side. Sue had taken Harry's place on the council. Bella admired the older woman's composure. After everything her family had suffered in recent weeks she was still managing to hold it together.

Bella was sitting on a folding lawn chair. Jacob was sitting on the floor in front of her. His ribs were healing, but slowly. He was still in a great deal of pain. Everyone had wanted to put off the meeting until he was well again, but Jacob had insisted that his body might not be working right, but his ears were.

"Are you okay?" She murmured to Jacob.

"Don't worry about me." Jacob whispered back. He was making light of his injuries in front of the others, but deep down he was in a lot of pain. He could tell by Bella's face that he might have fooled the elders, but he certainly wasn't fooling her. He took her hand and scooted closer to her. Just being close soothed his hurt and he sighed in blessed relief.

Billy cleared his throat. "Has Jacob ever mentioned imprinting to you, Bella?" He asked.

"No." Bella said in a small voice. She glanced at Jacob anxiously. He squeezed her hand gently in response.

"Then let me explain. I'll start from the beginning in order to make it easier for you to understand. A bit of background knowledge will help. " Billy began in his rich, deep voice. The words poured out with precision, as if he knew them by heart, but also with feeling and a subtle rhythm.

"The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning." He said. "And we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood. It wasn't always the magic of shape shifting-that came later. First, we were spirit warriors."

Never before had Bella recognised the ring of majesty in Billy Black's voice though she realised now that this authority had always been there. She had just been too self absorbed to see beyond what her eyes were telling her. She listened with rapt attention as he retold the old legends. She became lost in the ancient stories; time seemingly suspended as she became hypnotised by Billy's deep baritone.

"The wolves were all different, because they were spirit wolves and reflected the man they were inside."

Bella was so involved in the story, it was a shock to come back to the present. She shook her head as if to clear it. She was hot, hotter with Jacob pressed into her side. She watched as Old Quil and Billy shared a long look. Billy fell silent and the ancient elder took over the story. His voice was reedier than Billy's, and not as captivating. He often paused for breath, making it difficult for Bella to follow. But she concentrated hard so she could get the gist of his story. It was a shock when she realised he was talking about the Cullens.

"A bigger coven came, and your own great-grandfathers prepared to fight them off. But the leader spoke to Ephraim Black as if he were a man, and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes gave some proof to his claim that they were not the same as the other blood drinkers. The wolves were outnumbered; there was no need for the cold ones to offer a treaty when they could have ones the fight. Ephraim accepted. They've stayed true to their side, though their presence does tend to draw in others."

Jacob made an angry sound in the back of his throat. Bella put her hand on his arms to soothe him, and he calmed down. A fact which did not go unnoticed by either Billy or Old Quil.

"And their numbers have forced a larger pack than the tribe has ever seen." Old Quil said, and for one moment his black eyes, all but buried in the wrinkles of skin folded around them, looked at Bella pointedly. "Except, of course, in Taha Aki's time." He said, and then he sighed. "And so the sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice their father's endured before them."

All was silent for a long moment. Neither Jacob or Bella spoke. He was so still beside her, his breathing deep and even, that she realised he had fallen into an exhausted sleep.

"They should never have come back here." Bella spoke in a low voice. "Their selfishness brought all this on. They would have known that if they settled here again their presence would have attracted others of their kind, just like in the past. They knew about the pack. They knew staying here would set things in motion again. But they didn't care enough to leave." She was angry, fiercely so. Her feverish brown eyes met those of Quil's wizened grandfather. It was like he was seeing into the depths of her very soul. She was the first to look away. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"It's good that you are angry. Hold on to that anger, child." Old Quil wheezed. He exchanged a knowing look with Billy before facing her and Jacob again. "It's been a long morning and I think we all need a break." He suggested as his eyes travelled to Jacob. "Then, afterwards, we can resume where we left off and talk about the most important part-imprinting."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Fifteen**

Bella knelt in front of Jacob and stroked his hair back from his face. He had fallen into an exhausted sleep and she was reluctant to wake him up again. His body was still in the midst of healing after his latest encounter with Victoria. Bella felt guilty enough about that without rousing him again because she selfishly wanted his support while Billy and Old Quil resumed talking.

"I think I'll let him sleep." She decided as she turned to face the older men. "I mean Jake knows all about this imprinting stuff already, so..." Her voice tailed off nervously.

"If you're sure, Bella." Billy smiled in an attempt to reassure her. "Imprinting is nothing to be afraid of, so please don't worry."

Bella tried to return his smile but she faltered. It was obvious that Billy was trying to make light of the whole thing in order not to stress her out, but deep down inside she knew it was something big. Exhaling slowly to calm her racing heart, she settled back into her chair and clasped her hands in her lap to stop them shaking.

Billy and Old Quil exchanged a long look before the ancient elder kick started the conversation again. "Feel free to ask me anything, my dear. If it all gets too overwhelming then we can stop at any time."

"Thanks." Bella was feeling hot again. She longed to take a cold shower and change her clothes.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Billy asked cautiously when he noticed her discomfort. "You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine. It's just a bit hot in here." Bella fanned her hand in front of her face. She saw Billy and Old Quil exchange another silent glance, causing her anxiety levels to ramp up a notch. "Perhaps we should just get started." She suggested weakly.

Old Quil nodded gravely and began speaking again. "Imprinting is the involuntary mechanism by which Quileute shape shifters find their soul mates. It is a profound, intimate phenomenon that exists among the Quileute shape-shifters.

"Soul mates?" Bella whispered. Was the old man for real?

"When a shape-shifter imprints on a specific girl or woman, he becomes unconditionally bound to her for the rest of his life. When it happens, the experience is described as being gravitationally pulled toward that person while a glowing heat fills him, and everyone and everything else in his life becomes secondary, and only the imprintee is left to matter, leaving the shape-shifter with a deep need to do anything to please and protect his soul mate".

"What?" Bella was alarmed. She glanced nervously in Jacob's direction and gingerly touched her own hot brow. "And this is going to happen to Jake?"

Old Quil regarded Bella thoughtfully for a moment before continuing on with his explanation. "Imprinting can occur anytime after a wolf's first phasing. It can happen with anyone, regardless of previous personal feelings. It happens the first time he sees the person he's imprinting on."

Bella's brown eyes went wide as she met the elder's impassive gaze. Her stomach was twisting into knots. The old guy had essentially just told her that her best friend in the whole world would one day look at some random girl and the said girl would become his soul mate, and everyone else he cared about would cease to matter to him. _She_ would cease to matter to him.

"Do you want us to stop, Bella?" Billy interjected. Bella's face had paled considerably. She looked like she wanted to be sick.

"No." Bella said through gritted teeth. "So you're telling me that Jacob can't choose for himself. The choice is foisted on him."

Old Quil was troubled by her reaction, but he kept his thoughts hidden behind a stoical mask as he carried on talking. "Imprinting can't be forced on anyone, no matter how much the shape-shifter may want it."

Bella struggled to wrap her head around what he was saying. The whole concept was disturbing. It was like Jacob's ability to choose was going to be taken away from him completely. Hadn't he suffered enough already? His life had been turned upside down when his wolf gene was activated. Any dreams he had for the future had been taken away from him. He was now duty bound to protect the tribe and his home for as long as they needed him. And now even his ability to choose who he spent that life with was going to be taken from him as well. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. And this made Bella angry.

"What would happen if a wolf is rejected by his so called imprintee?" She demanded roughly. "What if the girl is in a relationship already? What happens then?"

"We don't know the answer to that. It is assumed to be virtually impossible for that to happen. The imprinter is deemed to be the "perfect match" to the imprintee—he will be anything she may want or need, making rejection unlikely."

"I know this must seem overwhelming for you, Bella." Billy reached out and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

Bella's eyes slid to Jacob. He looked so innocent and so vulnerable lying on the too small couch. His head was hanging off one end and his feet the other. How he was managing to sleep at all in that uncomfortable position she didn't know. It was killing her that she could one day lose him to some stranger. She wondered when it would happen. She wondered how she would cope when it did happen. Her heart shriveled at the very thought.

"I wish you hadn't told me any of this." She whispered sadly with tears in her eyes.

Billy dropped his hand away and frowned. "Is the thought really that abhorrent to you?" He asked curtly.

"Of course it is." Bella moaned. She raised her fingers to her lips. The memory of the scorching kiss she'd shared with Jacob was still fresh in her mind. She had opened herself up to him after shying away for so long, and now she was going to lose him anyway.

Old Quil hushed Billy. "I think you are under a misapprehension, my dear. We are telling you about imprinting because we believe you are the imprintee."

* * *

"Are you claiming that there is some mystical, wolfy connection between me and Jake?" Bella was incredulous. She tried to work out her reaction. On the one hand she felt a huge sense of relief that Jacob wasn't going to be stolen from her, but on the other their relationship was confusing enough as it was. She didn't need any more of the supernatural than she already had to deal with. "This is insane."

Billy gave her a toothy grin, which eased the lines in his face, making him appear suddenly younger. "That's one way to put it, I suppose." He laughed.

Old Quil laughed along with him. "I've never heard it put quite that way before."

"And Jake has known about all this?" Bella huffed, irritated that she was the subject of their amusement.

Billy's grin faded. "He knows _of_ imprinting." He looked toward Old Quil for help.

"But your connection hasn't followed the natural path." Old Quil said gravely. "And we are at a loss to explain it." He admitted honestly.

"Of course." Bella sighed. "Nothing in my life has ever been straightforward."

"You look on that as a bad thing?" The elder raised his bushy brows. "Life works in mysterious ways. It can test us but it also offers us many surprises. And this is one of them. Embrace it instead of fearing it."

"That's easy for you to say." Bella said grudgingly. "It's not happening to you. I've spent the last few days thinking I'm going crazy."

"Now it's your turn to talk, Bella." Billy encouraged her. "Tell us what's been going on. We want to help. Whatever you have to tell us we promise we won't judge."

Bella felt like she had little choice. But if she was being honest with herself it was a relief to unburden her worries onto someone else other than Jacob. Taking a deep breath to give her some courage, she began to explain to the two men exactly what had been going on.

* * *

Jacob's eyes strayed to the ceiling as he lay on his bed with Bella curled into his side. "I'm sorry I fell asleep." He apologised guiltily. "You shouldn't have had to handle that all alone."

"Jake, you just hurt yourself saving me _again._ And you're apologising because you needed to rest?" Bella shook her head in amusement. "What am I going to do with you?"

Jacob turned his head to look at her, his handsome face troubled. "You have every right to be mad at me."

"Why?" Bella was genuinely confused.

"Because of all this imprinting crap. I've just made your life a whole lot harder." He said bitterly.

"How can you blame yourself for something that was out of your control?" Bella tucked her head under his chin and sighed.

"But I wanted to imprint on you, Bells." Jacob confessed in shame. "I longed for it. I panicked when I first found out about it after I phased. I tried to force it-" His tone turned bleak as he gazed into her eyes helplessly.

"All those times you used to stare into my eyes?" Bella whispered. "You were trying to make it happen."

"I'm so sorry. I really am."

An awkward silence fell. Bella picked at a ragged bit of thread on the sleeve of her shirt as she mulled over what he had just said. Something was worrying her and she was afraid to express it in case she didn't get the answer she wanted. But in the end the words tumbled out of her mouth anyway.

"Are your feelings genuine, Jake? Is this_...us_...our friendship even real? Or did it become about because of the whole imprinting thing?" She cast her eyes down and blinked to push back the tears welling in her eyes.

"Of course it's real. You can't doubt my feelings for you, Bells." Jacob cried passionately. "I've always, always loved you." He declared. "Deep down you know that. It has nothing to do with imprinting or love at first sight. What I feel for you transcends soul mates. I knew you completed me as soon as I laid eyes on you-"

Bella cut him off with a kiss. Her mouth crashed against his, her fingers cupping his face and drawing him closer as she eased his lips apart with her tongue. Jacob groaned as he pulled her on top of him-ignoring the sharp pain from his fractured ribs-and tangled his fingers into her thick hair. Their breathing came hard and fast as they sought to get closer, the kiss turning almost angry as if they had something to prove.

"Not again!" Charlie's exasperated voice broke them apart as he thrust the bedroom door open unexpectedly. "So this is where you disappeared to." He snapped at Bella as she stared at him wild eyed.

Billy chuckled behind him. "Even you were young once, Chief." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "Let them be."

"I will not." Charlie grumbled as he motioned for Bella to leave the room ahead of him. "God, I need a beer."

"Coming right up, Chief." Billy rolled his chair back so a flustered Bella could pass him. "Don't worry." He whispered to her. "Quil is doing some digging. I'm sure we'll find out more about this unique connection that you share with my son."

Bella nodded weakly. Right now she had other things to worry about-like an annoyed father for instance. She was ashamed to say it but she had completely forgotten about calling Charlie to let him know where she was, thus forcing him to come looking for her. And for the second time he had walked in on her kissing Jacob. Her cheeks warmed as she felt the familiar heat of her blush.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Sixteen**

"I didn't know where you were, Bella." Charlie said reproachfully as soon as they were back home in Forks. "You didn't leave a note or anything."

"I'm sorry." Bella apologised. "I won't do it again. I just needed some fresh air to clear my head."

"Why?" Charlie frowned. "Is this something to do with Edward again?"

Bella swallowed down the lump which seemed to be permanently lodged in her throat. She had pushed her worries about the Cullens impending return to the back of her mind. She had just been focusing on Jacob's recovery before this strange imprinting phenomena blindsided her. Bella still wasn't sure how she felt about it yet. It was so overwhelming to think that she shared such a unique and intense connection to another person-even if that person was Jake.

"Bells?" Charlie looked at her enquiringly, wondering why she wasn't answering his question.

"I'm sorry...what?" She had become completely lost in her own head. There was so much going on that she was finding it difficult to concentrate.

"Bells, I thought we were past this. You can confide in me you know." Charlie didn't hide his hurt that she was keeping things from him again. "Haven't I proven that I can be trusted?"

"I do trust you." Bella implored.

"Then tell me what's worrying you."

Bella exhaled slowly. She longed to tell him the truth, but once again circumstances were forcing her to keep secrets from him. She hated keeping Charlie in the dark, and was continually fighting with her guilt over it. She decided to go with a partial truth-one that he would find out anyway.

"The Cullens are coming back, Dad."

"What?" He exploded. His expression turned grim. "Why didn't you say anything before? Is this what you were so keen to tell Jacob?"

"Kind of. He deserved to know."

"And I didn't?" Charlie turned away from her and put his hands on his hips. He was full of disappointment. He walked away a few paces and stopped with his back to her. "You kissed Jacob."

"Yes." Bella blushed at the memory of their last hot kiss. It had been even more scorching than the first.

"You kissed Jacob and now Cullen is coming back." Charlie spun round and walked back to face her. He bent down and peered into her clear brown eyes as if searching for something. "I need you to help me understand, Bells. Jake is like a son to me. I don't want him to get hurt. And I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"You think that when Edward gets here that I'm going to go running back to him." Bella said flatly.

"You've had some confronting times this last week or so, kiddo. I'm concerned that you might be jumping into things with young Jake too soon." Charlie explained carefully. "I need some reassurance that you're thinking things through properly."

Bella looked at him hopelessly. "I'm doing my best, Dad. And I've been completely honest with Jake. That is all I can promise you right now."

Charlie reached out and pulled her into his arms. He pressed a light kiss into her hair. "Then that's all I can ask of you, kiddo." He sighed.

* * *

Jacob woke groggily to find Sam looming over him. "Shit, Sam." He groaned in defeat. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just walked in. Billy told me to come in to check on you." Sam smirked in amusement at Jacob's obvious discomfiture.

Jacob scowled. "You don't need to check up on me. I'm not five."

"You're lucky that you've got an old man to worry about you." Sam's smirk disappeared to be replaced with a disapproving frown. "Some of us aren't so lucky."

Jacob turned away from Sam to hide his guilty expression. Everyone knew what a piece of scum Joshua Uley was. Sam had a rough time with his father growing up, that was until Joshua abandoned him and his mother, Allison, altogether.

"Are you feeling better?" Sam asked gruffly.

"Yeah, the pain is just a dull ache now." Jacob admitted grudgingly. "I'm getting up now."

"Emily sent over some of her muffins if you're feeling hungry."

"I am...and thanks." Jacob mumbled. He ran his fingers through his messy hair as he stood up. With him and Sam in the same room there was no space left. His head was nearly touching the ceiling, making it hit home that he had grown another few inches. He was taller than Sam now.

"Come on." Sam led the way out of the bedroom with Jacob following reluctantly behind. The delicious aroma from Emily's freshly baked muffins filtered down the small hallway and his stomach rumbled.

"Are you feeling better, son?" Billy enquired when Jacob emerged into the small front room. He had a plate of muffins balanced on his lap already.

"I'm getting there." Jacob muttered as he grabbed his own muffin and bit down into it. The sweet tang of blueberries hit his tongue and he savoured the flavour for a few seconds. Emily's muffins were good but Bella's were better.

_"I should think so."_

Bella's voice in his head made him choke. He coughed violently, banging on his chest with his fist. His eyes watered as Sam hastily passed him a glass of water.

"Slow down." He said reproachfully.

_"Warn me next time you do that, Bells_." Jacob said in his head as he snatched the glass from Sam and chugged down the water in one gulp. _"You nearly killed me." _

_"I'm sure you'll survive."_ Bella replied sardonically. "_I was just testing whether this whole telepathic thing we've got going on still works."_

_"Oh, it works, alright_." Jacob responded with a smirk.

"What are you grinning about?" Billy demanded when he saw Jacob's face brighten suddenly. "Let us in on the joke."

Jacob jumped and slopped the last dregs of water over himself. He shook his head to clear it. "I was just...um...laughing at myself choking on that muffin." He said lamely.

Sam was watching him curiously. "Are you sure you're feeling better?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm fine." Jacob mumbled as he turned away so that they couldn't see his face. _"Bells, are you still there?"_ He said aloud in his head.

_"Whoohoooooo..." _Bella busted up laughing as she made the ghostly sound_. "I bet that made you jump."_

Jacob laughed despite himself. He was forced to stuff another muffin in his mouth to cover up his muffled laughter.

Sam put a big hand on his shoulder and made him turn around. "You're acting strange." He said warily. "What's going on with you?"

Jacob's dark eyes were dancing with amusement as he tried to compose his expression into something serious. ""I told you I'm good. I'm perfectly normal."

_"You are not normal, Jake_." Bella giggled. _"Normal people don't hear voices in their head. Well, except when they're not phasing into a giant wolf that is."_

Jacob choked on his muffin again as he tried to swallow it. He caught the bemused expression on Sam and Billy's faces and it made him collapse with laughter. He fell back on the couch and closed his eyes, his whole body shaking with mirth.

_"I'm gonna get you for this, Bells."_

_"I'd like to see you try. See ya later, wolf boy. Over and out." _Bella said cutely before her voice vanished into the ether.

* * *

Jacob and Sam ventured back to First beach, right to the very spot where Jacob had chased Victoria into the sea. Uley had brought Jacob back there on purpose, under the guise that he wanted to scout the area one last time for any possible clues. It was really just a ruse to get Jacob to open up to him about how he knew that Bella was in danger in the first place. The connection that Jacob shared with Bella was puzzling, and so different to his imprint with Emily. Sam's curiosity was piqued and he couldn't deny that he was a little envious of the intensity of their unique imprint.

"There's nothing to see here." Jacob said irritably as he wandered up and down the shore. His eyes strayed to the ocean. Being in this spot was bringing back painful memories of Bella's close call with death. He had just gotten to her in time. His body trembled at the thought of what could have been.

"It was lucky that you sensed she was in danger." Sam said in his rich baritone. "How did you know?"

Jacob's gaze slid to his Alpha's. He was quiet for a minute before answering. "I heard her calling for me in my mind." He admitted with difficulty before closing his eyes in anguish. "I felt her fear."

Sam stared toward the jagged rocks that rose from the ocean like stubby broken-off fingers on the south rim of the harbour, while he tried to make sense of it all. The whole pack knew about his fraught imprint with Emily. It was not something he was able to hide. There was only so much privilege allowed in being the Alpha. It had been a tough lesson to learn trying to disguise his fear and apprehension. In the early days Jared and Paul had unintentionally been forced to share much of his pain and guilt as he tried to cope with the enduring twin pain of physically harming his soul mate and breaking Leah's heart. He wondered often how he had survived it.

Jared's imprint with quiet Kim was easy in comparison. There had been no drama there. Kim was just a girl he'd sat next to in school every day for a year and never looked at twice. And then, after he changed, he saw her again and never looked away again. Kim was thrilled. She'd had a huge crush on him anyway.

But Jacob's imprint with Bella was something different entirely. She had always been on Jacob's mind constantly even before things shifted between them. His thoughts about her were like a quiet thrum humming in the background when they ran as a pack. It annoyed everyone, especially as she was known as the vampire girl then. None of them could understand his devotion to a girl who seemed to give nothing in return other than bringing trouble upon them. Sam resented her intrusion into their lives just as much as he resented the lack of privacy in his own. Nowhere was safe. Not even his own head. It was awful. No privacy, no secrecy. Everything you were ashamed of, laid out for everyone to see.

"I'm sorry, Jacob." Sam said suddenly.

Jacob looked at Sam with a curious expression. "What are you sorry for?"

"For not being supportive enough of your friendship with Bella in the beginning. I admit I didn't understand."

"You apologise only because of the imprint connection." Jacob didn't bother to hide the harsh bitterness in his voice. "But what you don't understand is that Bella has always been special-special to me. You may get to rummage around in my head when we're phased, Sam, but Bella is the only one who knows the real me."

"What do you mean?" Sam pressed.

The sun broke through the clouds suddenly, a surprise neither of them had been expecting, and they were forced to narrow their eyes against the glare off the water. They squinted for a moment, letting their eyes adjust. There were no sounds beside the hollow roar of the waves that echoed from every side of the sheltered harbour. When Bella stepped into the bright light, Sam was the only one who was surprised. Jacob was already gone from his side as he went to join her.

Sam's mouth dropped open in shock. He hadn't heard Bella approach. Though it seemed that Jacob knew all along that she was coming. Behind him the soft grinding of the stones against each other under the water's movement, and the cry of the gulls overhead shouldn't have been enough to disguise the sound of Bella coming toward them. He remained in thoughtful silence as he watched Jacob slide his arm around Bella's shoulders before the clouds covered the sun and everything dissolved into shadows.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Seventeen**

Sam Uley found Old Quil seated at his large kitchen table, hidden by a multitude of books. He was eagerly bent over one of the books: his thick glasses perched on the end of his nose. His daughter in law, Joy, bustled around, throwing him disapproving glances every now and then.

"He's had his nose stuck in those darn books since yesterday." She complained.

Sam mustered up a sympathetic smile. Joy was a petite woman. Her unruly black hair was wavy like Quil's. Today she wore it in a severe bun at the top of her head. It was bound so tight that Sam could see the fine hairs pulling at the edges of her scalp.

"I won't take up too much of his time." He promised.

"I suppose you'd like a drink." Joy offered grudgingly.

Her temperament certainly didn't live up to her name, Sam thought to himself irritably. Quil took after his father's side, thankfully. "I'm fine." He said aloud to reassure her. "Don't let me disturb you."

"It's a bit late for that." Joy grunted as she spun on her heel and wandered off in a huff.

Sam sighed in relief when she was gone. He didn't envy Quil his mother that was for sure. His own mother, Allison, may not be the most affectionate woman, but at least she didn't bite his head off at every opportunity like Joy. He tapped on the kitchen door with the back of his hand to capture Old Quil's attention.

The elder's head popped up over his mountain of books. A bright smile eased the heavy lines running either side of his mouth. He was sprightly for someone of his advanced age. No one really knew how old Quil was, and he certainly didn't care to share his secret. He motioned Sam toward one of the empty chairs arrayed around the table.

"I wasn't expecting to see you today." Old Quil greeted him. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and looked at a sombre Sam expectantly. "You look worried."

"I'm not worried. More concerned." Sam pulled up one of the chairs and spun it around so he was straddling it. He rested his arms on the backrest and gazed at the old man thoughtfully. "Something odd happened today that I'd like to run past you."

"Go on." Old Quil said eagerly. "Is it about Bella?"

"Yes." Sam frowned heavily as he pondered the best way to describe what he had seen without sounding crazy. He was already beginning to doubt what his eyes had shown him. "I was with Jake at the beach today..." He paused in his explanation as he tried to find the right words to describe what he had seen.

The elder regarded him speculatively. "Just tell me in your own words."

"I was with Jake at the beach." Sam said again. "I thought there was a good chance he might open up a bit more about this unique connection that he shares with Bella. "

"Jake has already told us as much as he is able." Old Quil replied carefully. "What more did you expect him to say?"

"I don't know." Sam huffed out an annoyed breath. "Anyway...we were talking, then the sun broke through the clouds. It took us a minute to get used to the brightness...and then Bella appeared." He said in wonder. "She seemed to come out of nowhere. I certainly didn't hear her approach. But Jake seemed to know. He wasn't surprised. It was like he knew she was coming."

"Are you telling me you didn't hear or smell her approaching? That should be impossible with your enhanced senses." Old Quil mused. He scratched his chin as he contemplated Sam's words. "This is another intriguing element to their connection. It's seems like she's taking on some of the wolf's traits with the silent approach and her fever. She was also able to remain undetected when in close proximity to the red head."

"Jake said he heard Bella calling for him in his mind, and that he felt her fear when she was under threat from Victoria." Sam confided to the elder.

Old Quil's eyes twinkled in the deep folds of his skin. "This is so fascinating." He said reverently. "It's like their connection has a spiritual quality to it. To gain such an intense connection there has to be absolute trust between the individuals concerned. If Jake was the only one who knew Bella was approaching than that means she has gained the ability to choose who perceives her physically. It would explain why you didn't sense her and why the red head didn't either. It's like she's shielding herself somehow."

"Are you saying I don't trust Emily and vice versa?" Sam demanded roughly. He didn't bother to hide his hurt at the old man's insinuations. "And that if we did then we would be spiritually connected, too."

Old Quil cleared his throat awkwardly. "You and Emily have been through some difficult times, Sam. I wasn't implying that your imprint with her is any less valid then Jacob's is with Bella."

"But it's not as _fascinating_." Sam retorted sarcastically as he threw the old man's words back at him.

The elder's bushy brows drew down into a deep frown. He could hear the jealousy in Sam's tone. The emotion didn't sit well with him but he could understand it. Sam's imprint with Emily had caused a lot of pain to good people. He was carrying a lifetime of guilt on his broad shoulders, every time he looked at Emily's ruined face it was another reminder that he would never be able to atone for his sins.

"You know that deep down I believed that imprinting was a way to breed stronger wolves for the future." Sam said bitterly. "You know that Leah can't have children."

Old Quil's eyes tightened. "Put that theory out of your mind, Sam." He sighed. "The idea to make stronger wolves is logical but that doesn't necessitate that it's for the future generation. It could just mean that it makes the wolves themselves stronger. Emily gives you things that Leah can't-"

Sam got up abruptly from his seat and towered over the elder. "This conversation ends now. I didn't intend to come here to discuss my life. I've told you about Jake and Bella, it's up to you how you theorise their connection."

With that parting comment Sam stalked off, leaving the troubled elder staring after him.

* * *

Jacob made a contented sound in the back of his throat and rested his cheek on top of Bella's head. He could feel the heat from her skin-though it wasn't quite at the same high temperature he enjoyed.

I love the sun." Bella murmured. The sun was peeking out from behind the clouds again. Absentmindedly, she twisted her right hand to the side, and watched the sunlight glitter subtly off the scar James had left there.

"You called me your own personal sun once." Jacob reminded her. Then he laughed as another memory popped up in his head.

Bella laughed along with him. "You're remembering that moronic movie that I took you to. And Mike Newton puking all over everything." She was surprised by how time had changed the memory. It used to be one of stress, of confusion. So much had changed that night...and now she could laugh. It was the last night she and Jacob had had before he learned the truth about his heritage. The last human memory. An oddly pleasant memory now.

"Bella."

Jacob speaking her name in such a hushed tone pulled her out of her introspection. "Yes." She smiled lazily.

"You saw what I saw in my head." Jacob said in awe. "You saw my memory."

The significance of what he had just said made her mouth pop open into a perfect O. Their telepathy went deeper than they originally thought. "I'm sorry." She apologised. "I'm so sorry. This connection is getting more intense. I didn't even realise I was doing it."

"Hey, chill." Jacob smiled at her reassuringly. "You have to admit it's pretty cool."

"Aren't you freaked out?" Bella said tensely.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not anything new. You've always been able to read me like a book." Jacob joked.

"But I'm invading that private space in your head." Bella moaned.

"Bells, when I'm phased I have seven other people rummaging away in there. I gave up on privacy ages ago. And anyway I like knowing you see what I see."

Bella wished she could be as relaxed as Jacob about it. But then again he had more practice and more time to get used to it. She was about to say more when her cell went off. She jumped at the noise, making Jacob laugh at the shocked expression on her face.

"It's a pity you can't predict when that thing goes off along with your other talents." He snickered.

Bella glared at him disapprovingly as she pulled out her cell. She didn't find that funny.

"Who is it?" He asked, looking over her shoulder. "Charlie?"

Bella held her phone up in front of her so he could see. "It's Alice." She said in defeat.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Eighteen**

"I don't want to speak to her." Bella said quietly.

"Then don't." Jacob scowled at the phone. "Damn leeches." He ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "I miss the way life used to be. It was so easy...uncomplicated."

"I know." Bella felt the cool sea breeze lift her hair off her hot neck. "I could use a day just messing about with the bikes like we used to."

"I'm glad I've got a good memory." Jacob sighed.

A sudden tension took hold of Bella's body as her cell stopped ringing abruptly. Seconds later the phone vibrated signalling a message was coming through. Her anxious eyes met Jacob's and she passed him the phone, not really feeling strong enough to read the text herself. He took it from her and slipped his arm around her shoulders at the same time. She was shaking-with anger or nerves-he wasn't quite sure.

_"Bella, _

_we've arrived back safely and are all anxious to see you again, especially Edward. I presume you must be spending the majority of your time with the wolves as I have only been able to catch brief glimpses of you. _

_Please call me as soon as you get this so we can arrange a meeting._

_Alice."_

"Unbelievable." Jacob laughed, with a hard edge to his voice. He glanced at Bella, she was sitting pensively next to him with her arms wrapped around her body as if trying to hold herself together. He hadn't seen her do that in such a long time and it upset him. "Don't, Bells. Don't let them drag you down again."

Bella lowered her gaze to her hands as she dropped them onto her lap. They were shaking violently. "I didn't even realise I was doing it."

"I hate what they do to you." Jacob continued bitterly.

Bella felt tears well in her eyes as she saw the memory unfurl in his mind. He was remembering the way she looked the night Sam found her. Then it switched to the first time she came to see him at his place. She looked such a mess- so vulnerable and weak. It was shocking.

"I can't believe I was that bad. I don't want to be that way again." She sobbed.

Jacob's arm tightened around her. "I can't shake the memory of how you looked when you first came to my house. It continually haunts me. You were so fragile. It was weeks before you started to recover and look human again. And I remember how you used to wrap your arms around yourself, trying to hold yourself together..." He winced, and then shook his head. "It's hard for me to remember how sad you were, and it wasn't my fault."

"I shouldn't have put you through that. I'm sorry." Bella whispered hoarsely.

"Don't be sorry for that." Jacob leaned down and brushed his lips across her hot forehead. He pulled back and smiled at her, the warm familiar smile that she loved so much. An answering smile spread across her face. "Better now?" He asked.

Bella nodded. "I love you, Jake." She said impulsively. "Thank you for being so patient and taking good care of me."

"I love you, too." Jacob's smile widened. His eyes danced with happiness. It was the first time that Bella had said the words aloud. He knew deep down she loved him, but to hear her actually say it sent his soul soaring. He leaned in for a kiss, but stopped when he heard someone hailing him from a distance. It was Sam. "Dammit, can't we just get five minutes alone." He cussed under his breath.

Bella put a calming hand on his chest. "He must know the Cullens are back."

"Probably." Jacob reluctantly pulled away from Bella. "I'll go meet him. Wait here." He pressed a light kiss into her hair, before jogging across the sand toward Sam.

* * *

As Bella drove home she wasn't paying much attention to the road that shimmered wetly in the sun. She was thinking about Jacob and the flood of information about their unique connection, trying to sort it out, to force it all to make sense. Now the Cullens had returned, complicating things further. Jacob had left with Sam to join the others. They were going to head over to the Cullens mansion and get the lie of the land. A meeting between them and the coven was inevitable with Victoria still running loose.

It came out of nowhere. One minute there was nothing but bright highway in her rear view mirror. The next minute, the sun was glinting off a silver Volvo right on her tail.

"Oh, hell." Bella muttered. She wasn't ready to see Edward yet. She should have guessed he would pull this kind of stunt. The text from Alice was just a ruse to separate her from Jacob. As soon as he left with Sam she would have popped up in Alice's visions again.

Bella thought about pulling over. But decided against it. She didn't want to be accosted by him on the highway. The best thing was to continue driving straight home. She prayed that Charlie was there to act as a buffer. Edward couldn't force a meeting between them if her dad was there.

The Volvo followed inches behind her. She kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, though she couldn't stop her heart racing with panic. She wondered if Jacob would sense it like the last time she had been in danger. Her skin burned as her temperature spiked. The road seemed endless. She pushed the old Chevy to its limits, the needle crept over fifty, but she could feel the engine strain. After another five tension filled minutes passed her house finally came into view. Bella swung her old red truck onto the driveway and parked. The silver Volvo stopped right behind the truck, hemming her in. Charlie's cruiser was nowhere in sight.

_"Jake!" _She cried in her head. _"Edward's here."_

She was greeted with nothing but silence.

It was only then that it occurred to her that Jacob had been in his human form when they had communicated telepathically. He was running as a wolf right now, his whole attention focused on his mission to stake out the Cullen mansion. Maybe their connection was severed when his spirit wolf took over his body. Maybe she was blocked because having his imprint's voice inside his head as well his brothers would be too distracting. And being distracted when facing down blood thirsty vampires was a death wish.

Bella glanced in her wing mirror and saw Edward climbing out of his car. His face could have been carved from stone. Instead of looking repentant, he looked angry.

She was screwed.

* * *

Edward stood against his car across from Bella. His face was hard and his posture tense. He glared at her wordlessly. He seemed too angry to speak. But why he was angry with her was a mystery. She hadn't done anything wrong. He had.

"What do you want?" She finally asked as the uncomfortable silence lingered on.

A growl rumbled low in his chest, but his expression didn't change. Eventually he pinched the bridge of his nose between the fingers of his right hand.

"Bella." He whispered. "Do you have any idea of the agonies I've suffered knowing that you placed yourself in mortal danger by continuing your association with those dogs. After we spoke on the phone I assumed you would have taken my warnings seriously."

A feverish glow burned in her eyes as she regarded him with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. "How dare you stand there and act like you've got some moral right to criticize me." She accused as her hands balled into fists at her sides. "How dare you speak like that about Jake and his brothers."

"He could have hurt you-"

"ENOUGH!" She cut him off. "There is nothing to worry about. Jacob isn't dangerous. He's my protector."

Edward's teeth ground together. " Bella, you aren't exactly the best judge of what is and isn't dangerous."

"Yes, you're right." Bella conceded with a mocking smile. "If I did then I would have had the intelligence to tell you to go to hell when we first met."

Edward flinched at her bitter rejoinder. Pain flashed in his golden eyes. "I know you don't mean that."

"But I do." Bella sneered. "Every single word of it. You are my biggest regret."

Edward's eyes blazed with hurt. He swallowed thickly, his eyes closing briefly as he tried to maintain his composure. "I understand your anger and I accept it."

Bella saw his eyes dart toward the trees surrounding the property. She heard a faint rustling and she relaxed when young Seth Clearwater walked out into the light. He must have been watching the house the whole time. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of cut off sweats. He immediately went to join her.

"Jake's on his way." He told her, completely ignoring Edward as if he wasn't even there. "He saw through my eyes what was going on." A cheeky smile lit up his face. "I was going to come out right away, but he told me just to keep a close eye on things. He knew that you could handle yourself and needed the opportunity to get some things off your chest without me hovering over your shoulder."

A burst of hysterical laughter spilled from Bella's lips. It was such a Jake thing to say. She smiled at Seth and put a grateful hand on his arm. "Thanks."

Edward watched their interactions closely. A puzzled frown marred his forehead. This wasn't the way he had expected his reunion with Bella to go. She was more changed than he expected, so different to the girl he had left behind. She reeked of the wolves, absolutely stank like them. It was like they had rubbed themselves all over her intentionally to mask her normally sweet scent. It was one of the reasons he had not run to embrace her. It was like the dog smell was warding him away or something. His teeth clenched with impatience for Seth to be gone. But Bella did not seem in much of a hurry to dismiss the child. He wished he could read her mind so he could understand what she was thinking. But like before it remained impenetrable to him.

Bella was totally unaware of the wild thoughts going through Edward's mind. She was relaxed now that Seth was with her. She could sense Jacob coming closer, and a few minutes later, his voice popped into her head now that he was back in his human form.

_"I'm proud of you."_

_"I'm proud of me." _Bella crowed.

Jacob chuckled. _"That's my girl."_

Seconds later he emerged from the trees, his expression set and determined. He didn't immediately join Bella and Seth, but instead walked right up to Edward and punched him in the face.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Nineteen**

The blood from Jacob's split knuckles splattered on Edward's face. His nostrils wrinkled in disgust and he scowled viciously as he wiped his hand over his chilly skin.

"It didn't take long for you to prove my point, dog."

Bella ignored Edward's posturing and focused all her attention on Jacob instead. _"Are you alright?"_ She said in her head anxiously. _"You're bleeding."_

_"Don't worry it's already healed."_ He quickly assured her. _"Felt good though"_

Bella relaxed and put her fingers over her lips to stifle a giggle. She loved that he'd risked injury on her behalf. She couldn't physically slap Edward herself so he had done it for her.

"Bella, I warned you his kind are dangerous. Now you've seen it for yourself." Edward implored. He took a few steps toward her but Jacob blocked his path, his expression stern. Edward paused, his golden eyes assessing Jacob carefully. There was a flicker of confusion in them and his eyebrows drew down in a puzzled frown. "Why can't I read your mind? Have your wolf senses evolved in some way?"

_"Interesting_." Jacob said to Bella in his head. _"What do you make of that?"_

_"Intriguing. The only mind he couldn't read before was mine."_ Bella raised her hand to brush away the perspiration beading on her forehead. Her sudden rise in temperature, and Edward's unexpected appearance, were too coincidental not to be related.

_"You never told me that before." _

_"Because I didn't think he was ever coming back I didn't feel like it was important. Sorry._" Bella shrugged and shot an apologetic glance in Jacob's direction.

Edward was watching their interactions curiously. He caught their little looks and glances. Neither of them had answered him. He could even see that the young shifter, Seth Clearwater, was bewildered by their lack of response to his questions.

_"Don't apologise, honey."_ Jacob assured her as he continued their telepathic conversation. "_Do you think this could be connected to our imprint? If he couldn't read your mind before, and he can't read mine now, maybe you are projecting your little talent onto all of us." _

_"You mean my crazy mind is protecting all of us from Edward's mind reading?"_ Bella couldn't stop the little glimmer of pride in herself from welling up inside.

_"I think so. Look at the bloodsucker's face. He's confused."_ Jacob wanted to laugh out loud and shove his theory in Cullens face, but he fought the urge to boast. The less Edward knew the better. _"You know what this means don't you, Bells." _

_"What?" _

_"You're a protector, too." _

A warm glow spread through Bella's body and she suddenly felt ten feet tall and ready to take on the whole world. She schooled her features into a disdainful expression as she levelled her gaze with Edward's. "It's time for you to leave. You've outstayed your welcome. Bye now."

Seth snorted with laughter when she said this, and Jacob's face broke out into a big grin as he watched Edward's face turn livid. The bloodsucker hadn't expected this very unwelcoming welcome from Bella. It was obvious he had assumed she would fall right back into his arms.

"In case my right hook didn't make it clear. Your times up, Cullen. You heard the lady." Jacob's amused smile disappeared to be replaced with an intimidating glare.

Edward scowled as he began to retreat to his car. There was something going on here that he didn't understand, but he was determined to find out. He was sure that Jacob Black was somehow controlling Bella in some way. She was completely changed from how he remembered her. This shouldn't have been possible in the few months he had been gone. Her normal alluring scent was being masked by the dogs vile stench. She seemed to have undergone a personality transplant-this wasn't the sweet, shy girl that he had left behind. She was bolshie now, even perhaps a little arrogant. They were not very endearing traits to have. It was also deeply perplexing that Jacob and Seth's minds were hidden from him, just like Bella's always had been.

"I'll be in touch, Bella. All I ask is you really think about what I have said. I love you." Edward said hastily as he retreated to his car. He revved the engine in an intimidating fashion, his white fingers clenched around the wheel. At one point it looked like he was going to run Jacob over, but at the last moment he spun the silver Volvo around and tore off down the road.

* * *

Charlie came home to find his house invaded by a group of Jacob's friends from La Push. He was alarmed to find several of them lounging in his front room, eating his food, and worse one of whom had taken over his precious recliner.

"Hey, boy, get out of my chair and take your smelly feet off my coffee table." He demanded.

The boy in question was Paul Lahote. He smirked at the police chief's infuriated face before standing up and making a great show of dusting the swivel chair down. There was a ripple of laughter at his antics coming from the others. Charlie was not amused.

"BELLA!" He bellowed. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

"I'm in here, Dad." Bella called out to him.

Charlie followed the sound of her voice into the kitchen. He saw his daughter in the midst of pulling something out of the oven. Seth Clearwater was seated at the table with a bowl in front of him. He kept digging his fingers in and out of the mixture inside before putting them in his mouth and licking them clean. Next to him sat Jacob and Sam Uley. Billy and Old Quil sat on their other side.

"What on earth is going on here, Bells?" He asked again hoarsely.

"Hey, Chief." Billy greeted him with a twinkle in his eye. "Bella's cooking up a storm here."

"Good evening to you, Charlie." Old Quil said cheerfully. "Your daughter is quite the cook."

"Hi, Charlie." Jacob grinned cheekily.

"Hi." Sam flashed him a rare smile.

"Mom says hi." Seth said with cake mixture coating his lips.

"Hey, Dad." Bella said cheerfully as she deposited the fresh muffins she had just pulled out from the oven onto the table. Their sweet aroma assaulted Charlie's nostrils and he found his mouth watering. "Take a seat, Dad."

"Here you go, Chief." Billy said merrily as he pulled out the chair beside him.

"Is this...is this...a party?" Charlie asked, feeling dumbfounded. He settled in the chair Billy had provided and stared around at everyone. "It's not my birthday, is it?" He scratched his head as he tried to remember the date.

Billy chuckled. "No, it's more of a random get together." He passed Charlie one of his own beers.

"In my house?" The police chief wondered aloud as he popped the lid off the beer bottle.

"And a nice house it is, too." Old Quil looked around appraisingly. "Your daughter runs a tight ship."

Charlie gulped down some of his beer. Jacob and Seth were already lunging for the freshly baked muffins. Sam was more sedate. He saw Bella slip out of the kitchen carrying a tray full of them, probably to distribute them to the other goons taking up space in his front room.

"Who's paying for all this food?" He asked suspiciously.

Jacob and Seth stopped eating, each with a muffin pressed to their lips. Billy suddenly looked hunted, while Sam exchanged a long look with Old Quil.

"Well?" Charlie persisted.

"Bella invited us, Chief." Billy laughed awkwardly. "It is a kind of um...party."

"What are we celebrating with my money?" Charlie's eyes narrowed in his best friend's direction.

"You know what...I do believe it is your birthday, old man." Billy said hastily, quickly backtracking. He raised his own beer in a hurried toast. The others grabbed their drinks and did the same. "Happy fiftieth, Chief."

"Happy fiftieth." The others echoed around the table.

Charlie's face turned red with pleasure. "Thanks." He said, touched by their gesture. He tapped his bottle against Billy's before taking a huge gulp. He beamed around at them all until something very obvious occurred to him. "Hang on a goddamn minute. I'm thirty nine not fifty." He exclaimed.

Bella walked back into the kitchen carrying the now empty tray. As she looked around the room she noted Charlie's indignant expression and the guilty ones the others were sporting. "What's going on in here?" She asked, feeling puzzled.

_"My dad screwed up."_ Jacob's voice suddenly popped up in her head. _"Charlie was getting suspicious with all of us being here. He couldn't exactly tell your dad that this was a pack meeting about the Cullens coming back, so..."_ He tailed off.

_"So?"_ Bella prompted him impatiently.

_"So my dad stupidly said we were all here to celebrate Charlie's fiftieth." _Jacob shot her a sheepish grin from across the room. _"But your dad just said that he was thirty nine."_

"But your forty two not thirty nine." Bella said aloud to Charlie before she could stop herself.

"I am not." He protested hotly. "I'm not forty until the end of..." His steely gaze shot to Billy. "Today is not my birthday." He snapped.

"Isn't it?" Billy tried to look innocent. "Darn it. I could have save myself the cost of paying for that case of beers."

"They're my beers." Charlie said flatly.

"Really?" Billy raised his beer bottle to his lips and took a huge gulp. "And very nice they are, too." He nudged Old Quil to rouse him. The elder had fallen into a light doze. "Aren't they, Quil?"

"Oh, yes, very nice indeed." Old Quil mumbled his agreement. "It was very generous of you to invite us to your surprise birthday party, Charlie. And of course very generous to provide all the food and drink, too. I'm sorry young Seth ate your cake." He shot a disapproving look in a shocked Seth's direction. "But it's the thought that counts, right?" He ended cheerfully.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Twenty**

Edward paced up and down in front of Alice. "You must be able to see something." He demanded.

Alice sighed in exasperation. "I think I have mentioned that I can't see past the wolves on more than one occasion."

Edward wasn't in the mood for sarcasm. He shot Alice a dark look, which she just ignored completely. He was even more affronted when she pulled out her cell phone and started to check her social media platforms. He reached out and snatched the phone from her hand.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Focus, Alice. I need you to focus." Edward seethed.

"You are being ridiculous." Alice grumbled.

"There is something going on with Bella." Edward climbed onto the plush sofa next to his sibling. "Something is not quite right and I just can't put my finger on it. The way the dog controls her...it's sickening." His fingers curled into a fist as he recalled the way Jacob Black had used his influence to suffocate Bella and break her free will.

Alice studied Edward in concern. He had been on edge ever since their return from Italy. After his initial reunion with the family, he had gone off on a tangent, immediately leaving to pester Bella as soon as he arrived back in Forks. Carlisle had counselled him to stay away from her until he was in a more composed frame of mind. It had been a close call with the Volturi. Even so, they hadn't been allowed to leave until Aro had extracted a promise from them that they would return one day with Bella in tow. The Volturi leader was very intrigued by the human girl who had captured a vampire's complete adoration and caused him to risk his very existence on her behalf.

"I couldn't read his mind, Alice." Edward continued bitterly. "I don't recall the last pack having the ability to mask their thoughts from me. It must be a new ability that has evolved over time. Which means they could have developed other talents that we don't know about-like mind control."

Alice burst out laughing at that comment. "You are definitely reaching now."

"You didn't see her, Alice. She was so different-her demeanour, her sweet scent- everything was changed."

"You seriously didn't expect her to welcome you back with open arms, surely?" Alice shook her head in disbelief. "I know Bella can be forgiving, but she deserves to see you work to earn that forgiveness. And she's going to smell hanging around with those dogs all the time." She wrinkled her nose at the memory of Jacob Black's potent stench on the one occasion she had been forced to be around him.

Edward's expression turned calculating. He put a hand on Alice's arm. "You weren't here when we negotiated the treaty with the last pack. I've seen firsthand how volatile these creatures can be. It doesn't take much to set them off. You even told me yourself that Black could barely keep a rein on his temper when you met him."

"She's been around these creatures for months and hasn't come to any harm. In fact without them there would have been nothing for you to come home to." Alice said sharply.

Edward froze, his golden eyes turning bleak with despair. "I know what a fool I've been. I will spend eternity trying to atone for my mistakes. This is my second chance, Alice. I won't waste it. I'm being serious when I say there is something mysterious going on with Black and how he controls Bella. It's like she's lost her sense of self. Several times when I spoke to her directly she would zone out and look in his direction as if awaiting permission to speak or something."

"That is concerning." Alice tapped her lips with her forefinger as she mulled over what Edward had told her. "I know that Bella has grown close to Jacob Black in your absence, but I never assumed he would be able to hold such sway over her."

"Then you understand why I am so anxious to force a separation between them. This has nothing to do with my wanting her back, this is all about her wellbeing. Black preyed on her when she was at her most vulnerable, maybe she thinks she owes him or something. I won't stand for it, Alice." Edward looked at his adopted sibling imploringly. "Will you help me?"

"It's not me who needs convincing. Carlisle made it clear we were not to interfere, and that it should be Bella's decision alone whether she wanted us back in her life or not. She has to make the first move and come to us." Alice hesitated.

"But he doesn't knew the true extent of the wolf pack's hold on her. He likes to see the good in everyone, which means he sometimes fails to see the bigger picture." Edward had planted the seed of doubt, now he just had to sit back and watch it grow. "Help me convince him otherwise." He pleaded. "I know you miss Bella nearly as much as I do and that you want the best for her."

"Okay." Alice agreed eventually. "When you speak to Carlisle, I'll join you. Together we'll have a better chance at persuading him that everything is not as it seems."

* * *

Bella was having a strange dream. She saw herself dressed in a ratty pair of old jeans teamed with an oversize grey sweatshirt. The sweatshirt enveloped her petite frame and hung to her knees. She had to roll the sleeves up several times. It took a moment before she realised the sweatshirt was one of Jacob's. Bella stood in front of an oval mirror in an unfamiliar restroom. She was actually smiling at her reflection like she was some kind of princess. All she needed was a crown.

As soon as that thought entered her head a crown did indeed miraculously appear-well a sparkly tiara anyway. It looked absurd with the old clothes she was wearing. But still her dream persona seemed to love it. She adjusted the tiara on her head until she was satisfied it was dead straight, then floated out of the room as if she had wheels attached to her feet.

Suddenly the scene abruptly changed and Bella found herself sitting in her old Chevy next to Jacob. She was still wearing the stupid tiara and the same old clothes. But now she was holding a small posy of wildflowers in her hands. Bella saw herself smiling like an idiot at Jacob. He smiled back at her from behind the wheel. She noticed that he wasn't dressed up either. He had on his usual cut off sweats. And at least he wasn't wearing a dumb tiara.

"We're nearly there." He crowed.

The dream Bella continued to grin like all her birthdays had come at once. Her eyes drifted to the desert landscape outside her window. A sign for Las Vegas flashed by. She squealed in excitement.

Then everything shifted again. This time she found herself standing next to Jacob clinging to his hand. In front of them was a line of other couples, and they all seemed as excited and nervous as she felt.

"Not long now." Jacob was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with excitement.

"You're such a kid." Bella giggled.

Jacob gave her a toothy grin. "It's not every day we get hitched by an Elvis impersonator-"

* * *

_"Elvis, Bella? Really?"_

Jacob's exasperated voice booming in her head startled Bella awake.

_"Huh? What's happening?" _Bella sat up abruptly, rubbing her balled fists into her bleary eyes.

_"We were about to get hitched by Elvis._" Jacob drawled sardonically.

Bella felt her cheeks flush with shame. She pouted and flopped back onto her pillows. _"Butt out of my dream." _

_"Duh, its kinda hard when you're projecting it at me. And I did have a starring role." _

_"Very funny." _Bella grouched_. "At least you could have tried to make a bit of an effort with your attire. It was supposed to be a special occasion and you turned up in your usual cut off sweats. This is a wedding we're talking about, Jacob."_

_"Bells, you were dressed in one of my old sweatshirts and ripped jeans. Don't get me started with that weird tiara thing you had on your head." _Jacob chuckled_. _

_"I didn't put it there."_ Bella crossed her arms in a huff. "_It just appeared. Like I would go to my own wedding dressed like that."_

_"So, what would you wear, then." _Jacob teased lightly.

Bella rolled her eyes as a hot blush warmed her cheeks. "_Why are we even talking about this?"_ She complained.

_"Aww...is ickle Bellsy Wellsy getting embarrassed cos' mean ole Jakey Wakey caught her daydreaming about her big day?" _

Bella stuck her tongue out at him, and then rolled her eyes again as she realised he couldn't see what she was doing. She laughed grudgingly. _"This is crazy." _

_"Yep!"_ Jacob popped the P.

_"Get some sleep, wolf boy. You've been out patrolling all night." _Bella chided him gently.

_"Yes, Mam. I'm just climbing into bed right now." _Jacob faked a huge yawn_. "G'morning, Bells." _

_"Night, Jake."_ Bella replied softly as a teasing smile played about her lips. _"Oh, and, Jake-"_

_"Yeah."_ This time it was a real yawn as Jacob settled down, his eyes were on the verge of closing.

_"Keep the dirty dreams to a minimum."_ Bella cackled. _"Over and out, wolf boy."_

Now it was Jacob's cheeks that grew warm.

_**A/N-thanks for reading! God, I suck at writing Edward, that's why I ended with some light relief with Jacob and Bella. LOL ;)**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Twenty One**

Jacob arrived at the same time as the pizza.

"You couldn't have timed that better." Bella laughed as she opened the door to let him in. "Anyone would think someone had given you a heads up."

"I wonder who that could be." Jacob joined in the teasing as he grabbed the pizza box off the intimidated delivery guy and planted a possessive kiss on Bella's willing lips.

Charlie elbowed his way past them and thrust the money for the pizza at the startled delivery guy, who was having trouble keeping his eyes off of Jacob and Bella's passionate display.

"Will you stop making a show of yourselves." Charlie said grumpily as he ushered them inside.

He was tiring of the constant PDA's, it was making him exceedingly uncomfortable. Bella had never showered the same kind of affection on Cullen when they had been together, (thank the lord!). That was why is was so shocking that she was being so open with Jacob. Charlie managed to keep his grumbling to a minimum as he snatched the pizza box off of Jacob and led the way into the kitchen-the smell of the pizza filled the house making everyone's mouth water.

Jacob was feeling ravenous. He was torn between kissing Bella or grabbing a slice. Bella took pity on him and pushed him toward one of the empty chairs. He grinned at her before diving across the table and ripping the box open. He picked up the largest slice for himself.

"Where's your manners, boy?" Charlie huffed as he eyed Jacob irritably.

"Sorry." Jacob shot the police chief a rueful grin before taking a huge bite of the pizza.

Bella settled on the chair next to him, and he threw his arm around her shoulders. Charlie frowned and watched them carefully. He was not happy. His look was easily interpreted as 'stop touching each other and just eat.'

Even at the table it felt like some tenuous string connected Bella and Jacob. Charlie continued to watch them in a way that made them both feel awkward and uneasy. His eyes followed their every movement, easily noticing every time they raised their glasses simultaneously to drink, dipped their pizza crusts in the marinara sauce at the same time, or reached for the same slice of pizza. His frown got deeper as he continued to watch them. Bella wondered what he was thinking about so hard to put that expression on his face. She knew he loved Jacob like a son, so what was bothering him so much.

Jacob was wondering, too. _"What's bit Charlie on the butt?"_ His voice was a whisper in Bella's head as he glanced from her, to Charlie and back again.

_"I don't know. Maybe it was your enthusiastic greeting that did it. You know how uncomfortable he gets when he sees us kissing and stuff."_

Jacob grinned when he saw Bella's skin flush at the mention of kissing and stuff. She was just too cute. "I can't help it, Bells. You're just too irresistible."

"What's so funny?" Charlie said suspiciously when he caught Jacob grinning and Bella's obvious blush.

"Nothing." Jacob wiped the grin off his face and tried to look serious.

Charlie scowled. "Something is amusing you. Why the stupid grin?"

Bella and Jacob exchanged another long look. "I'm just happy to spend some time with Bells, that's all." He said eventually.

"Clearly." Still wearing a sour expression, Charlie narrowed his eyes and stared at Jacob. "Just tone it down a bit, son. Or we may have to have the _talk_." His face reddened at the prospect and he quickly resumed eating.

_"Ugh!"_ Bella cried in horror in her head.

_"Hell no!"_ Jacob said in his mind at the same time.

_"He can't be serious, can he?"_ Bella asked Jacob worriedly.

One look at the police chief's stern face showed Jacob that he definitely was. _"He means what he says alright."_ He said to Bella.

But all Charlie heard was a resigned sigh.

* * *

_"Are you sneaking off to Vegas to get married again, Bells?"_ Jacob's laughter rolled around her head, startling her awake. _"It's not much of an elopement if you invited the whole pack this time."_

_"You let it slip in the pack mind." _Bella complained as she shook off the remnants of her dream. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

_"So, it's my fault?" _Jacob teased. _"I think you're getting a bit obsessed with this Vegas idea, honey. It's lucky that Charlie can't see, then he'd definitely be giving us the talk." _

_"Ugh, please don't go there. It's bad enough that I've got school again today." _

_"Want me to drive you there?" _Jacob offered.

_"Even though I would love nothing better. You need to catch up on some sleep." _Bella said regretfully_. "How long are these night patrols going to last, anyway?" _

_"For as long as it takes I guess. It's worth it if it keeps you safe."_ Jacob sighed. He reached his room and flopped onto his bed. His eyes were already closing. _"I'll see you later, Bells." _

_"Night, Jake_." Bella said wistfully as she tuned out. She glanced out of her window at the grey skies. Yet another overcast day. Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Sam stood outside the tiny house he shared with Emily. The walls had been painted a light gray but had faded over time. He glanced at the narrow window which failed to let in good light. The weather beaten blue door was in desperate need of a coat of paint. The only bright spot was the window box which was filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds. This tiny house was where Emily spent most of her days. She never really went anywhere, wanting to avoid the main town because she was afraid of anyone commenting on her scars. Her existence revolved around him and the pack.

This was the life he had given her and it made Sam feel sad. It had been a long night. The pack had spent the majority of it following false trails set by the redhead. They all led nowhere and they had wasted vital energy reserves tracking her down. He wondered if this was her true intent-wear them down until they were too exhausted to strike back when she did implement whatever crazy plan was forming in her head.

Sam was reluctant to go in, even though he was practically swaying on his feet with tiredness. Guilt was weighing heavy on his heart. Jacob had been his chosen companion during the night shift as the pack split up to follow all the different leads. He had picked Jacob to accompany him on purpose. He wanted to find out more about his unusual connection to Bella. At first he had probed Jacob's mind discreetly, hoping to find out what he wanted that way. But either Jacob had gotten wise to his plan, or he had somehow managed to shield his thoughts from him. It was very frustrating. In the end he had been forced to ask Jacob directly. But even then the kid was shady. He was holding something back and Sam couldn't figure out why.

_"Can you hear me, Emily?"_ Sam asked aloud in his head.

Only silence greeted him. He hadn't really been expecting a response, but he couldn't stop the bitter taste of defeat welling in the back of his throat. He hated to admit it but he was jealous-jealous of the fact that Jacob shared such an intense and unique imprint with Bella. It drew them closer in ways that he and Emily would never be.

"Sam, what are you doing standing out here?" Emily asked as she opened the door. The smell of freshly baked muffins followed her outside.

Sam swallowed thickly as his eyes focused on the scars that marred one side of her pretty face. She did her best to hide them behind a swathe of her black hair, but wasn't always successful. The gentle breeze blew the silky strands away from her face, exposing them for the world to see. His heart sank when Emily emitted a small gasp and hastily smoothed her hair back across her ruined cheek.

"Are you coming inside?" She whispered again.

Sam nodded as he went to join her. His arms wrapped around her like they always did, while his warm lips caressed the scars that he would spend a lifetime trying to atone for.

* * *

Edward and Alice found Carlisle in his study. His good mood vanished when he saw them. "Why do I feel like I'm being ambushed?" He said testily. He had just received the happy news that his old position at Forks hospital was still available and his if he still wanted it.

"Please, Carlisle, this is important." Edward cut him off sharply. He glared at his mentor, looking every inch the vampire as he dropped all human pretences.

"If this is about Bella" Carlisle decided to adopt the same harsh tone as his. "You know my feelings on the subject."

"There has been a change in circumstances." Alice said. "Edward is right to be worried."

"Such as?" Carlisle sighed.

"We think that Jacob Black is exerting some kind of control over Bella." Alice began before glancing uneasily at Edward.

"We don't think, we know." He corrected her. "She is not herself, Carlisle. It's like she has lost her sense of self. Several times when I spoke to her directly she would zone out and look in his direction as if waiting for permission to even speak."

Carlisle made an irritated sound in the back of his throat. "Are you sure there is not a touch of jealously behind your extraordinary claims? It would be understandable considering how much you still love Bella. But if she has simply moved on-"

"The wolves are volatile, unpredictable, temperamental creatures. I cannot-"

"I have a huge respect for them." Carlisle interjected coldly. "And so should you. They picked up the pieces after you insisted on leaving Bella alone to fend for herself. I supported your decision when you insisted we all leave Forks at such short notice in order for Bella to be allowed to live her human life in peace. I forgave you when you took off and nearly got yourself and your sister killed by the Volturi. I once again supported your decision to move back here, but it was on the premise that we would not intrude on Bella's life unless she requested it. She hasn't, so we won't. We are only here to find Victoria and end the danger she presents to Bella. Nothing else."

"But, Carlisle, it isn't only Victoria who is a threat to Bella. Black has clearly exerted some kind of mind control over her. If you saw the effects with your own eyes..." Edward persisted desperately.

"Don't be so ridiculous." Carlisle scoffed impatiently.

"Please, Carlisle." Alice added her pleas to Edward's. "All we ask is that you see Bella with your own eyes."

"Alright." Carlisle finally caved in. If he was facing Alice or Edward on their own he could handle them, but together they were a formidable force. He knew they wouldn't leave him in peace until they got their own way. "I start my first shift at the hospital again tomorrow. Bring Bella to see me there and we'll see."

"Thanks, Carlisle." Edward's whole posture relaxed now that he had gotten his own way. All he needed to do now was fabricate an excuse to get Bella to the hospital.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Twenty Two**

Bella was running late when she pulled into the school parking lot. The whole place was deserted. She cussed under her breath as she quickly grabbed her bag and slid out of the truck. As soon as her feet hit dirt a shadow fell across her-make that two shadows. She glanced up distractedly to find Edward and Alice standing in front of her, essentially blocking her path toward the school.

"I haven't got time for this." She groaned as she tried to push past them. But it was like brushing past concrete. They were immovable. "I've said all I've got to say to you, guys. Just leave me alone."

"Bella, please, this is important." Alice said gently.

"If it's about Victoria, talk to the pack." Bella snapped impatiently. "If it's anything else, talk to each other. I'm done with you."

"Now do you see what I mean." Edward whispered in an aside to Alice.

"Yes." She agreed, her brow puckering with worry.

"Now let me pass." Bella was slowly losing her composure. She hadn't expected any of the Cullens to actually come back to school, let alone ambush her in the parking lot.

"I'll handle this." Edward murmured so only Alice could hear. He moved slowly forward-each step taking half a second-one hand was outstretched toward Bella.

She watched the grace of his advance, feeling wary and caught off guard.

"Bella?" He asked in a low, calming tone, but the worry in his voice layered her name with tension.

Bella did not answer immediately. She knew this tone-the velvet fold of his voice wrapped around her like a security blanket. He used it often in the past to cajole her into getting his own way. It was the most perfect symphony, a honey trap, luring her in like a spider catching a fly.

"Bella, love. I'm sorry, I know it's disconcerting. But you're going to be alright. I will make everything better."

Everything? Bella's mind spun out, her concentration spiralling. It was like she was watching him through a thick, dark veil. Everything blurred until his heavenly face was the only thing she could see. While she was distracted Edward took the opportunity to reach out tentatively and stroke his fingers across her cheek. His touch was as smooth as satin, soft as a feather. The chill from his fingers seemed to sweep beneath the surface of her skin-it jolted through her bones, down her spine, and trembled in her stomach.

Some small sentient part of her that was profoundly attached to Jacob could see what Edward was doing. He was dazzling her, using the same powers gifted to all vampires which they used to draw their in their victims. Her heart thrummed in her chest like a baby bird as she tried to cling to that small part of herself that held onto clarity. But, Edward, sensing her resistance upped his game. His hand curled to the shape of her face. He arched one perfect eyebrow, drawing his face closer to hers, hypnotising her like a snake.

Bella made one last concerted effort to focus as Edward took her face between his hands and leaned in. Before she could react he kissed her, soft as a whisper at first, and then suddenly stronger, fiercer. She tried to maintain a sense of self, her hands shot out, pressing on his chest, pushing him away from her with what limited strength she possessed. The lack of oxygen made it difficult to breathe. Any coherent thought left her mind as her body sagged in Edward's arms and she fell into a dead faint.

"What have you done?" Alice cried in alarm. "You dazzled her, Edward. I never agreed to this. If Carlisle knew that you had used-"

"This is how she always reacts when I kiss her." Edward cut her off irritably. "She'll be fine when she comes round. Her passion for me overwhelms her sometimes and she forgets to breathe." A fond smile played about his perfect lips. "Now let's get her to Carlisle."

* * *

Jacob was dreaming...

_ He was sitting on the old couch at home with Bella beside him. She was patting his hair, trying to smooth the wild disarray with gentle fingers. His hair was getting shaggy now that he was growing it out again. _

_"You really should get some sleep." She said gently. _

_He yawned and stretched. "I'm sorry. I'm so useless these days." _

_"You're fine." Bella assured him. _

_"Let's go outside. I need to walk around again or I'll pass out." _

_"Just sleep, Jake." Bella crooned. "Everything is perfectly fine. I'm fine. There is absolutely nothing to worry about." She looked directly into his eyes, leaning in close and playing with the fine tendrils of hair at the base of his neck. Jacob could feel her cold breath ghost on his hot skin-_

_Cold breath? What the fuck?_

_Jacob reeled backwards as Bella's beautiful face dissolved into something much more sinister. Edward Cullen's grinning visage loomed close, his poisoned teeth gnashing together as he lunged in for the kill._

Jacob woke up abruptly, his skin was shiny with perspiration. His heart was pounding violently in his chest, threatening to break free. He knew that nightmare wasn't simply a dream. It was an omen.

Bella was in trouble and she needed him.

_"Bells? Bella?_" He cried desperately in his head as he tried to connect with her.

All that greeted him was silence.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Part Twenty Three**

Phase or take the car?

That was the question torturing Jacob as he ran out of the house to be met with another gloomy day. The sky was awash with various shades of grey, in places a chink of light managed to break through, but otherwise it was almost as dark as pre-dawn.

It was time to make the difficult call. If he phased he would make it to Bella's school quicker than if he took the Rabbit. But when he was running as a wolf their telepathic communication was broken. What if she tried to contact him through their mind link and he didn't respond to her? But then if he took forever driving around trying to locate her, when he could cover the same distance in a quarter of the time when he was phased, and there was a specific reason why she wasn't communicating with him because something bad had happened, then he could waste precious time.

"Fuck!" Jacob's fingers sank into his hair as he wished he could conjure up a magical solution to his dilemma. _"Bells, can you hear me? Talk to me, honey. I'm going out of my mind here."_

His agonised plea was met with the same ominous silence as before.

It was the silence that made the decision for him.

Jacob phased.

* * *

Bella moaned softly as her eyes flickered open. She raised her hand to her head and touched her aching temples. What the hell had happened? Disorientated, she tried to gather her thoughts. The last thing she remembered was climbing out of her truck in the parking lot at school. Had she fainted and hit her head or something? Her memory was all hazy and shit.

"She's waking up now, Edward."

Was that Alice?

Bella felt a cold chill shimmer down her spine as she tried to recall exactly what had happened. Now she was more aware of her surroundings she could hear the loud rumbling engine of her truck. She realised she was lying across the bench seat-Edward was at the wheel-her head was resting in Alice's lap. What was going on?

_"Jake?"_ She cried in her head. _"Jake?"_

She panicked when he didn't respond. She tried to concentrate harder. Even if he was deeply asleep she should still be able to penetrate his dreams. But all she got was blankness.

_"Jake! Answer me, dammit! Jake!"_

Bella didn't realise how much she had come to rely on their unique connection. And the one time she really needed to use it to her advantage, their telepathic link was severed. It could mean only one thing-Jacob was running as a wolf. It was the only plausible explanation. Sam must have called an emergency meeting or maybe there had been another sighting of Victoria.

"Bella, how are you feeling?" Alice's petite face hovered over Bella. Her brow was puckered in concern. "Do you think you can sit up now?"

Bella recoiled from Alice's attempts to help her to rise. She forced her shaking limbs to obey her as she straightened in her seat. But her efforts to avoid Alice only brought her closer to Edward instead. He chuckled, one hand leaving the wheel and reaching out to take hers.

"It's okay, love."

"Edward." Alice trilled as she watched his face fall when Bella jerked her hand away from him. "Go gently."

"Alice-" Edward protested. He held the little psychic's gaze for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. "Of course." He murmured. "Forgive me, my love." His tone was heavy with regret as he turned his attention back to Bella. "I understand this is difficult for you. I am sure Carlisle can find a solution to our dilemma."

"What is he talking about?" Bella demanded from Alice as she ignored Edward completely.

"Can you see her?" Edward talked over Bella as if she hadn't even spoken. "Is she visible to you now?"

Alice shook her head, her expression crestfallen. "No." She admitted.

Edward's lips thinned in frustration at her answer.

"Are you just going to ignore me as if I'm not here?" Bella demanded. With every passing second she was feeling more like herself. She rubbed her forehead as she tried to recall exactly what had happened in the parking lot at school.

"We're taking you to see Carlisle." Alice admitted.

"Why?" Bella tried to control her emotions. Kicking off in the enclosed cab of her truck, surrounded by two vampires was not a good idea, even if those vampires claimed to be civilised.

Alice's eyes flicked worriedly to Edward. He glanced her way, his expression still sulky. He was obviously upset that Bella hadn't even mentioned their romantic kiss or was even acknowledging him at all.

"We're just concerned about you." Alice said eventually.

"I'm perfectly fine." Bella replied through gritted teeth. "Now pull over so I can drive my truck back to school."

"We're nearly at the hospital now, Bella." Alice chirped. "We've come all this way now."

"It still frustrates me that I can't read your mind, Bella." Edward reached out and took her hand securely in his own. There was no fighting him off, he was too strong. With one hand still resting on the wheel he guided the old Chevy into the parking lot at the hospital. "But don't worry. We'll find a way through this. We've fought bigger battles then this to be together."

Bella decided that Edward was delusional. His time in Volterra had damaged him in some way. That had to be the reason why he was acting so weird. Alice was enabling him by supporting him in this madness. Bella could see by the worried glances that the little psychic was shooting in her sibling's direction, that she was concerned about him, too.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	24. Chapter 24

**Control**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

_**A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Quil yawned widely as he strolled into the kitchen. He found his grandfather sitting at the table with his reading glasses perched on the end of his bulbous nose. His dark eyes twinkled merrily in the deep folds of his skin as he scrutinised the voluminous book laid out in front of him. The elder looked like he was about to burst out of his skin with excitement.

"What's up, Pop?" Quil asked curiously as he hovered over the old man's shoulder and peeked at the faded text on the brown pages of the book.

"What's up is that your grandfather is a genius, boy." Old Quil slammed the book shut sending up a cloud of dust.

Quil shot back as he accidentally breathed the dust in. He coughed violently and glared at his grandfather. "There's a lot of words I could use to describe you, but genius isn't one of them."

"Oh, stop complaining." Old Quil retorted good naturedly. "Are you on your way out?"

"I've just come in." Quil grumbled. "Didn't you even notice I was gone?"

"Why would I?"

"Well that's nice. I'm out all night and half the morning patrolling, risking my life so that you can sleep safe in your bed, and you didn't even notice I was gone." Quil said grumpily.

The old man's bushy brows drew down into a deep frown as his keen gaze zeroed in the on the partial pink lipstick stain colouring his grandson's neck. "You may have been out, but you've certainly not been patrolling all night. If you're gonna meet up with a girl, cover your tracks better next time. You're lucky I'm not ratting you out to Sam." He patted Quil smartly on the shoulder before ambling out of the room.

* * *

"Hello?" Billy kept his voice low when he answered the phone in order not to disturb Jacob. He had no idea that his son wasn't even in the house sleeping like he presumed.

"Billy!" Old Quil bellowed down the phone. "I am a genius."

Billy winced as he pulled the receiver away from his ear. He was fond of Old Quil but why did the old man insist on shouting down the phone so half the res could hear him. "You sound excited, Quil." He said cautiously. "But could you tone it down a bit. Jake's sleeping. He's been up all night patrolling."

Old Quil dissolved into laughter. "You haven't fallen for that crock of shit have you, Billy. Quil tried to pull that one on me, but I know he's been with some girl, though he's being very mysterious about her. I bet Jake's been with his Bella."

"Jake takes his duties very seriously." Billy replied gravely.

On the other end of the phone Old Quil rolled his eyes at Billy's superior tone. He didn't believe a word of it. He brushed his irritation aside and began to babble incoherently about the revealing information he had just found out which he felt was relevant to Jacob and Bella's intense connection.

"Slow down and take a breath." Billy said testily. "I can't understand a word you're saying."

Old Quil grunted in annoyance as he exhaled slowly and started all over again. "We've been looking at Jacob and Bella's connection as a spiritual one-"

"That was your theory." Billy cut him off scornfully.

"Will you stop interrupting?" Old Quil huffed. "Now listen-imprinting as we understand it is a profound, intimate phenomenon that exists among the Quileute shape shifters. It's a way of finding their soulmates. It usually happens the first time the shapeshifter _sees_ the person he's imprinting on."

"I know all this-"

"Just listen. This didn't happen with Jacob and Bella."

"Since when has anything about Jacob and Bella's relationship been straightforward." Billy interjected impatiently. "There have been so many ups and downs, their friendship-not to mention their relationship-constantly on and off again. They've always been so intense about everything, even when they were younger they were drawn to each other straight away."

"And there we have the heart of it." Old Quil crowed. "This connection they share isn't an imprint as we know it. It is something different altogether. That's why it's not comparable to Sam's or any of the others."

"What are you suggesting?" Billy was getting caught up in the old man's excitement despite his reservations.

"Have you ever heard of a 'twin flame' relationship?" Old Quil asked.

"What the hell is that? It sounds painful."

"Well it can be for the people involved. And it certainly has been for poor Jacob and Bella- but that's the point."

"Explain." Billy pressed urgently.

"I came across it in one of the books my old grandfather left me." Old Quil continued eagerly. "There was a lot of blurb in there but I came across one passage that instantly captured my attention."

"About the 'twin flame' thing?"

"Yes." Old Quil drew in another deep breath. "There tends to be a lot of confusion about what a "twin flame" relationship really is. Unlike "soul mates," which are our perfect matches (or our spiritual family) twin flames are our perfect _mirrors_. Relationships with twin flames tend to be on-again-off-again, intensely passionate, and sometimes intensely painful. Twin flames help us awaken like nobody else, and they ultimately serve to show us who we really are."

"That sounds like Jake and Bella." Billy murmured.

"I thought so, too." The elder agreed. "Let me quote you what the book actually says about it:

**1\. You are intensely drawn to them. **Without any real cause or reason, you feel as though you've known this person before, even if you just met.

**2\. They have opened you up to a completely new way of thinking.** With them, you exchange ideas, beliefs, religion, and so on. You've "awakened" because of their love.

**3\. They come in and out of your life.** You're together, and then you're not, and then you are again. Despite the fact that you love each other more than anything, one of you (the "runner") seems to not be able to handle it, and dissolve the relationship. It's almost as though your connection is too intense for you to be consistently together.

**4\. They feel like home.** Upon meeting them, you immediately sense that you've known this person before. Your connection is too intense for you to have just been strangers – there is a deep feeling of familiarity when you're with them.

**5\. You are the epitome of yin and yang.** They seem just like your other half, the parts of you that were missing all along. (What you've yet to realize is that they are the parts of you you've yet to know.)

**6\. Looking back, you see that the period of time right after you're with them is always defined by change.** They bring about a lot of intense transformation in your life, sometimes painfully so.

**7\. You will find yourself becoming almost irrationally emotional when you're with them.** (These are the feelings and energies that have been in suppression, which they are there in part to help you recognize and heal.)

**8\. Your bond is instantaneous, and your relationship moves very quickly.** Right off the bat, you "click" as though you've known one another forever. This only grows over time, and the more you get to know about them, the more absolutely in love you are.

**9\. You are more than just lovers.** You are one another's teachers, best friends, and so on. You have such a deep and layered connection that you do a lot more for one another than just be romantic.

**10\. It seems like you're always pulled back to them** in one way or another.

**11\. Your relationship can be tumultuous at times.** This is because your twin flame serves to show you everything that needs to be healed within you. This is not to be confused with "love" being painful. Love is not painful. Everything that stands in the way can be, though.

**14\. One of you is more "spiritual" than the other.** One is more soulful, the other more practical. You teach one another the virtues of how you think and behave – that is part of your purpose.

**15\. You feel very attuned to them**, almost telepathically. You can feel what they're feeling, or know what they're thinking. It's as though you are one."

"Fuck, Quil." Billy breathed in awe.

"Watch your language." Old Quil said disapprovingly as if Billy was a five year old.

"Sorry." Billy apologised distractedly. "This is huge, Quil. And it explains a lot."

"Yes." Old Quil said gravely. "Jacob and Bella are twin halves of one soul."

* * *

Jacob was at Forks high within minutes. He hastily transformed back into his human form and quickly pulled on his shorts. Bella was a creature of habit, she always parked her truck in the same place without fail. Jacob went straight there, but when he arrived he found that the old red Chevy was missing. The vamp stench hit him as soon as he got near the empty space-he recognised Edward Cullen's foul odour straight away, along with the one belonging to the little psychic. A sudden fiery rage took hold of him. A primal rage that was so intense that it made him explode into a wolf right in the middle of the parking lot.

* * *

"I need the bathroom." Bella demanded as they made their way past reception.

Edward paused for a minute as he exchanged a long look with Alice. She was the first to break the intense stare, hanging her head and sighing. Edward then approached Bella and wrapped his arms tightly around her before she even had a chance to move. He pressed his cold lips against her cheek. "Alice will go in with you." He murmured.

"I don't need a chaperone." Bella tried to wriggle out of his tight embrace but it was impossible. The more she moved the tighter he squeezed.

"Edward." Alice admonished him sharply.

Edward growled in Bella's ear. "Alright, Alice." He sneered, before finally letting her go and stepping back.

"Come with me, Bella." Alice murmured as she took hold of Bella's hand and guided her toward the nearest facility.

As they walked through the door to the bathroom Bella was disappointed to find that they were the only two occupants. Her hasty plan to use other people as a distraction so she could make her escape fell flat.

"I'm sorry about Edward." Alice said apologetically as she hovered by one of the cubicles. "He has been very stressed since our return from Italy."

"That is not my problem." Bella hissed angrily.

"I know you are upset with him. I understand that-"

"You don't understand anything." Bella interjected scornfully. She disappeared into one of the cubicles and locked it.

With her back to the locked door Bella closed her eyes tight and tried to contact Jacob again. This time she concentrated really hard. Her skin began to burn and her temperature rocketed as she tried to force the connection.

_"Jake! Jake! Please, answer me!"_

Nothing!

Bella tried several more times but hit the same blank wall of silence as before. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead and her hands curled into fists. She was full of frustration and anger. She was so hot she felt ready to explode. There was a light tap on the cubicle door.

"Bella, are you alright?"

"Yes." Bella replied coldly.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Alice said sadly. "I'll leave you to wash up. I'll wait outside with Edward."

"You do that." Bella snapped as she made a great show of flushing the toilet. She waited a few heartbeats to make sure that Alice had really gone then slowly unlocked the door.

It seemed Alice had kept her promise as the bathroom was now empty. It was only a temporary stay of execution. There was still no means of escape. The bathroom had only one tiny window which was too small and too high up to make a quick getaway. After checking her pockets she found her cell phone was missing.

"Fuck." Bella cussed as she turned on the tap over the sink and splashed cold water on her hot face. As she glanced up at her reflection in the small mirror hanging over the wash basin, she noticed how flushed her skin was. Her brown eyes were ringed with fever. It Carlisle examined her now he would definitely think there was something wrong.

Her only chance of escape now was to try and create some kind of fuss in front of some of the staff swarming around the hospital. She would have to do this before she reached Carlisle's office. Maybe if she could just reach a phone she could contact Charlie at the station or something.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Bella smoothed her hair down and slipped quietly out of the bathroom. Edward and Alice were like two sentinels standing guard outside. Bella expected both of them to accost her immediately, but for some strange reason, when they looked in her direction, it was like they were looking right through her. Bella paused, her heart speeding up in anticipation as she raised her right hand and waved it in Alice's face. There was not a flicker of recognition. It was like the little psychic didn't even perceive that she was there-

_"Oh, my god! They can't see me!"_ Bella cried in her head.

Something niggled in the back of her mind-something that Jacob had told her once-about how puzzled Sam had been that he had not been able to see or sense her when she had come to meet Jacob on the beach one time. Then she recalled the time she had crossed paths with Victoria on the beach, and how the crazed redhead seemed unable to sense that she was there, instead mistaking her scent for that of a wolf.

_"I'M SHIELDING MYSELF_." She shouted in her head, feeling completely awestruck by her own abilities. _"DAMMIT, JAKE, IT'S LIKE EVERYTIME I'M FRIGHTENED OR SCARED IT ALLOWS ME TO DRAW FROM OUR SHARED ENERGIES AND CHANGE OTHERS PERCEPTION OF ME. THIS IS HUGE. I WISH YOU WERE HERE. I NEED YOU TELL ME I'M NOT CRAZY. ANSWER ME!"_

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


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